Christina ChengLian Tan

"Tan always seemed to be gauging her performance to suit the needs of the moment, and such intelligent playing is as welcome as it is rare.” 
Having played with orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic, Christina was invited by concert pianist Béla Siki to study at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance, Theory cognate while on various scholarship awards, theory, and piano teaching assistantships. Her teachers there include James Tocco, the Pridonoff Duo, Frank Weinstock, and Béla Siki. 
 
She has clinched the top prize and awards at several local and international piano and composition competitions, including the 1986 Diners Club Pianist of the Year Award. Most recently, she won first place in the "Above 25" category and the "Composer Prize" of the BMTG Intercontinental Piano Competition. A Carnegie Hall début in November of 2019 followed. Byron Adams wrote, "Thank you, with all my heart, for your consummate artistry and true insight into my Illuminations."  As a composer, The Straits Times describes her music, “Spirited piano piece a winner...21st-century music does not need to be inaccessible to be taken seriously... Tan’s artistry, shone through with utter clarity, humor, and beauty… There was much poignancy to be had in the familiar preludes...sheer poetry reigned ...a captivating performance on the whole.”
 
An enthusiastic educator and adjudicator, she has served on the faculties of the University of Akron, Asbury, Transylvania, Northern Kentucky, Hiram College, Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, and Winthrop. In 2010, she was invited to teach at her native Singapore's brand-new flagship SOTA~ School of the Arts. In 2014, she also began teaching at LASALLE College of Arts’ School of Contemporary Music and NAFA–Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts' School of Music. Passionate about music-making and education, she is the immediate past Vice President of the Singapore Music Teachers’ Association. In 2016, she was awarded the Golden Key International Music Festival Certificate of Excellence in recognition of outstanding commitment to music education and students represented in the International Composition Competition.
 
A dedicated, avid leader demonstrating an ability to cultivate a lifelong love of music; moreover, provide support, and engaging instruction, to students driving performance results and standards. Believing her role as a catalyst and mentor, she facilitates and imparts knowledge and skills to perpetuate discernment, critical thinking, and self-reflection. It is the supreme joy of awakening the wonder of creative expression, heightening aesthetic awareness, and growth in others that fuels her passion and for her calling. 

• Bachelor's, University of Cincinnati, CCM, OH.
• MM University of Cincinnati, CCM, OH.
• D.M.A. University of Cincinnati, CCM, OH.