SAMUEL PANG EN

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Samuel Pang En 彭恩 is the first Singaporean admitted to the renowned piano pedagogy program at the University of Oklahoma (OU) with dual teaching assistantships. He is completing a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and he will begin his Doctor of Philosophy in Piano Pedagogy and Music Education in Fall 2026. Recently, he was awarded the Music Activities Scholarship (Spring 25), Robberson Research Grant (Spring 25), and the Marjorie Martin Caylor Memorial Scholarship (Fall 24 & Spring 25). Samuel studies piano with Jeongwon Ham and piano pedagogy with Sara M. Ernst.Before arriving in the States, Samuel earned a Bachelor of Education (Piano Pedagogy), 1st class honors from the Royal College of Music, London on the NAFA Scholarship and Shariff-Vaidhya Arts Scholarship at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, where he was subsequently conferred the Best Graduate Award (BEd) and was the first-ever recipient of The NAFA President Award (Degree) in 2024.He studied piano with Kim Bo Kyung, Rena Phua, and Nellie Seng; piano pedagogy with Julie Tan; and research with Rebecca Kan and Miranda Francis. He also received coaching in piano with Hwaen Ch'uqi (Eastman School of Music, NY), Penelope Roskell (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London), Richard Uttley (Royal College of Music, London), and Loo Bang Hean (UCSI University, Malaysia).Samuel holds memberships in the National Association for Music Education (US), Music Teachers National Association (US), OU MTNA Collegiate Chapter (OU), and The Singapore Music Teachers' Association (SMTA).

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Recent Research

^{Pang, S.E. (2025). Intersections: Piano Variations and Practice Know-How as Teaching Strategies for Piano Technique Development. MTNA e-Journal, 16(4), 24-25. MTNA e-Journal.}

^{A piano teacher is able to strategically teach through piano variations by leveraging the intersections between technique, music and practice with the demands of intermediate-level studies. At the intermediate level, students transition from method books to standard repertoire, further developing their technique, artistry and interpretative skills. As an alternative, teachers may opt to teach through piano variations. In this novel approach, the piano teacher’s main goal is to shape students into independent, musically thinking and technically proficient pianists over the long term in preparation for advanced-level studies.}

^{Pang, S.E. and Kan, R.Y.P. (2024). Nuances of an In-between Space of Learning Through Auditory Approaches in Early Piano Instruction. Behavioral Sciences, 14(12), 1128 https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14121128.}

^{Musical experiences in early piano instruction tend to be led by visual-based methods, limiting opportunities to develop aural abilities for children to understand music. This study examines the exploratory behaviour of music listening through auditory approaches that support visual-based methods to foster musical comprehension. Drawing from case studies of young music learners between the ages of 7 and 8, qualitative data were collected through lesson observations, interviews, game-based assessments, and performance evaluations of a prepared piece. Positive instances of recall, calibration, association, and empowerment indicated how participants perceived and strengthened the association of heard sounds. The findings further highlight the demanding cognitive ability needed to process visual elements in method books and how auditory approaches can relieve the attention to visual score-reading that enables students to better tune in to the coordination of hands with music. This discussion therefore opens the possibility for exploring how we may uncover nuanced differences in learning when we design teaching methods that straddle both auditory and visual approaches.}

Conferences/Presentations

^{Pang, S.E. (2025). A Glimpse Into Piano Education in Singapore: Perspectives of Piano Studio Teachers. Poster Presentation: NCKP 2025: The Piano Conference. Virtual. June.}

^{Kalhammer, K., Hurst. L., and Pang, S.E. (2025). Designing Interactive Piano Events for the Community: Observations from Two Approaches. Presentation. Collegiate Connections. NCKP 2025: The Piano Conference. Virtual. June.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2025). Aural Abilities in Sight-reading: A Literature Review. Poster Presentation: 2025 Oklahoma Music Teachers Association State Conference, Stillwater, Oklahoma. May. ResearchGate.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2025). A Glimpse Into Piano Education in Singapore: Perspectives of Piano Studio Teachers. Poster Presentation: The 14th International Conference for Research in Music Education (RiME), Virtual, April.}

^{Kalhammer, K., Hurst. L., and Pang, S.E. (2025). Designing Interactive Piano Events for the Community: Observations from Two Approaches. Presentation. National Collegiate Connections: The Frances Clark Center. Virtual. April.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2025). Intersections: Piano Variations and Practice Know-How as Teaching Strategies for Piano Technique Development. Poster Presentation: The 14th MTNA Collegiate Chapter Symposium, Norman, Oklahoma, January.}

^{Pang. S.E. (2023). Playing the Classical Period Repertoires: How Historical Context & Musical Contents informs the Applications of Technique & Touch. Lecture Recital: The 3rd UCSI Piano Pedagogy Conference, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, November.}

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Pianist

Samuel is a classical pianist whose musical fluency spans a wide range of genres and styles. He is especially committed to the exploration of Romantic and Late Romantic, Modern, and Neoclassical repertoires.He was selected by Ursula Oppens (Distinguished Professor at Mannes School of Music and CUNY Graduate Center in New York City) to receive mentorship after his performance at the Nanyang International Music Competition 2019. Similarly, at the Nanyang International Piano Academy Competition 2019, he was deemed one of the top scorers that year and received mentorship by You Xi (Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing). In 2022, he clinched the Gold Award at the Nanyang International Piano Academy Competition under the Open category. He has also performed in other masterclasses by Lilya Zilberstein (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna), Claudius Tanski (Mozarteum, Salzburg), Andrjez Pikul (Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland), Melody Quah (Penn State University, USA), and Louis Schwizgebel (Leeds International Piano Competition).

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