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 Pacific, the late concert pianist Béla Sik invited her to study at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance with a Theory cognate while on various scholarship awards, Theory, and piano teaching assistantships. Principal Piano studies with James Tocco, Eugene & Elizabeth Pridonoff, Frank Weinstock, and  Béla Siki. Harpsichord with Eiji Hashimoto and Organ studies with David Mulbury.
 
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.”
 
In the US, she has served on the faculties of the University of Akron, Asbury, Transylvania, Northern Kentucky, Hiram College, Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, and Winthrop. In 2010, an invitation to teach at her native Singapore's brand-new flagship SOTA~ School of the Arts. In 2014, she began concurrent teaching at The University of the Arts, comprising 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 has been the 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 her outstanding commitment to music education and students represented in the International Composition Competition.
 
A dedicated, avid pedagogue 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 for her calling. 

EDUCATION:  The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music:

• Doctor of Musical Arts, Theory Cognate
• Master of Music 
• Bachelor of Music, cum laude

Doctor of Musical Arts: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Cincinnati, OH, 1995 (Doctor of Musical Arts, Piano Performance, Music Theory Cognate)

Master of Music: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Piano Performance )

Bachelor of Music cum Laude: (Piano Performance)