Asst Prof Dr Kat Agres • Founder and Director

Kat Agres is a cognitive scientist, public speaker, educator, and cellist. In addition to spearheading Music Cognition and Music & Health research at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, she is the founding director of the Centre for Music and Health (CMH) at NUS. Before joining YST, she established the Music Cognition group at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Kat’s research spans a number of topics and methodologies, including music cognition, the therapeutic effects of music for special/clinical populations, arts engagement and individual/community health, developing music technology (music MedTech) for healthcare and well-being, computational creativity and automatic music generation systems, music-based Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), auditory statistical learning, and using computational models to simulate music cognition and memory. 

Kat received her PhD in experimental Psychology, with a graduate minor in Cognitive Science, from Cornell University. She completed her postdoctoral research at Queen Mary University of London in the School of Electronic Engineering & Computer Science, where she was supported by a grant from the European Commission to investigate music cognition and computational creativity. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Psychology and Cello Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. Kat has received numerous grants to support her research, including Fellowships from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the USA; the European Union's 7th Framework Program; and A*STAR, the Mind Science Centre, and others in Singapore.

An active public speaker, with recent keynote engagements around Southeast Asia, Kat has presented her work in nearly twenty countries across five continents. Kat also publishes extensively in a diverse range of conferences and journals, from 'The Psychology of Music' to 'Cognitive Science' and 'Neural Computing and Applications.'

Kat has also played cello professionally, and has, amongst other engagements, served as the Assistant Principal Cellist for the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania, USA. In addition to her background in classical music, Kat enjoys jazz, and played electric cello in a rock band based in the US and UK for several years.

For an up-to-date account of Kat’s recent speaking engagements, research, and publications, please refer to www.katagres.com.

Lydia Tan • Manager

Lydia’s unique background in music, psychology, business management, and community music has led her to the intersection of music and health. She is a graduate from Berklee College of Music in Boston, with a major in Jazz Composition, Singapore Management of University, with a major in Psychology, and a 2nd major in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources. She also has a Google certification in Digital Marketing, and completed courses in International Negotiation and Economics at Sabanci University in Istanbul. She was a recipient of the Rod Nordell Scholarship, Berklee Achievement Scholarship and ASEAN Cross Cultural Exploration Scholarship.

Since 2009, after shadowing the senior Music Therapist at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Lydia sought out opportunities to use music to impact communities. She founded a piano education initiative, Hashtag Sharp, that provides free lessons to youths who did not have the opportunity to learn. She also taught students music from underserved communities in Greater Boston at Berklee City Music, The Salvation Army Youth Development Centre, and REACH Community Services, and performed solo piano and in a Jazz Trio at Dementia Singapore and The Art Faculty, a social enterprise that creates gifts designed by artists with Autism. She has also volunteered at the Institute of Mental Health and raised funds for clean water in Ethiopia through Charity:Water.

As a musician, she was the percussionist at Esplanade’s Inauguration of the Pipe Organ in 2002, keyboardist of Stardust competition 1st-runner up indie rock band, Music Director of SMU Classical Piano Ensemble, composer and arranger for Big Band and Chamber Jazz Ensemble, Surdo percussionist of Marcus Santos’ Brazilian Batucada Ensemble at Beantown Jazz Festival, and one of the composers for Performance Poet Marc Nair’s Spoken Word album “Sounds Like a Buzz”. She has also been invited to give workshops on Improvisation for classically-trained musicians at CASIO Singapore, Nanyang Technological University Piano Ensemble, and in Kuala Lumpur. In her free time, she plays the guitar and melodica at Nursing Homes, and also plays in an R&B Funk Fusion band.

CHEN YIFAN • RESEARCH Coordinator

Yifan Chen is a dedicated public health professional and researcher with a deep focus on the symbiotic relationship between arts and health. His research seamlessly weaves together diverse fields such as sociology, biomedicine, and public health, highlighting the deep connection between the arts and health. His vast research pursuits encompass areas like arts in public health, social prescribing, music therapy, health policy, and narrative medicine. 

Prior to his involvement with CMH as Research Coordinator, Yifan has contributed to renowned institutions such as the Center for Arts in Medicine at University of Florida, the International Arts + Mind Lab, the Center for Music and Medicine at Johns Hopkins, and the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at NYU. His leadership capabilities shine through in endeavors like the Arts For Mental Well-being Initiative, a global initiative Yifan co-founded to advocate arts-driven mental health approaches for college students. He's also actively engaged as a member for the Young Adult Advisor Council for the Foundation for Arts & Healing.

Yifan earned his Master of Health Science in Social Factors in Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and his Bachelor of Arts in Biomedical English from Peking University.

Outside the realm of research and advocacy, he finds his voice through singing and songwriting. With his band, Arcadia, and his A Cappella group, Tonsil, they write original songs exploring social issues and perform on different stages in communities.

Nik Ilya • Research Assistant

Nik is a psychology graduate and guitarist, with an interest in health psychology and public health. Prior to joining the Centre for Music and Health, Nik has contributed to research at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Singapore General Hospital, and has worked on studies focused on public health, obesity and diabetes, health promotion, and preventative health. Nik also hopes to pursue a Master in Public Health in the near future and further his professional development.

Nik also comes from a musical family of guitarists and musicians who have been active in Singapore’s music scene and has played classical and electric guitar since a young age, spending much of his childhood running around the corridors of music schools. He has also previously performed with his band for events like the Youth Olympic Games 2010 opening ceremony, and their school’s open houses and orientation nights. Through his role at CMH, Nik has found an avenue to merge his professional and personal interests and hopes to deepen the ties between music and health through research.

In his free time, Nik is an avid tennis player that held a competitive national ranking as a junior, attends a wide variety of arts activities and concerts, from Rock and Pop to Classical, and a passionate animal lover who feeds community cats.

Dr Khoo Hui Ling • AFFILIATED FACULTY • Lecturer, YST Conservatory of Music

A pianist, music educator, researcher and entrepreneur, Dr. Khoo Hui Ling seeks and maintains diverse interests in life which nourish her artistic soul. She believes that good music is sincere and vulnerable, ideals she infuses into her artistic endeavours.

Hui Ling is currently Lecturer at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST), where she teaches modules in professional development, contextual studies, pedagogy and community engagement. Having a strong conviction to positively impact the music teaching community, she serves on the executive committees of the Singapore Music Teachers’ Association and the Southeast Asian Directors of Music (SEADOM), through which she coordinates the SEADOM 30 Under 30 Project. Prior to her current teaching appointments, she has taught in various capacities at Nanyang Girls' High School in Singapore, the University of Oregon and the preparatory division of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

In 2018, Hui Ling founded The Music Studios, a collective of private music teachers in Singapore with a mission to help every music learner build a lifelong friendship with music. Her sensitivity to detail and ability to elicit the strengths of every student have helped students gain entry into prestigious music programmes, festivals and competitions. The Music Studios has since grown with her creations of innovative programmes for both students and teachers, and she has been invited to share her research in piano pedagogy at the International Society for Music Education World Conference, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Music Teacher Conferences, and the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference.

Constant musing on the interconnectivity between art and the world around us has inspired Hui Ling’s eclectic array of musical projects. Her artistry at the piano has been heard in creatively programmed recitals in the United States, Europe and Singapore and forays into multidisciplinary performances. In 2016, she produced short documentaries on the confluence of Chinese traditional music and painting in Tan Dun’s 8 Memories in Watercolour as part of her doctoral research, culminating in a multimedia performance that premiered in the United States and Singapore. In her spare time, Hui Ling is a hobby potter and enjoys trekking. She also fiddles around on the erhu, which she picked up upon joining the Chinese orchestra as a teenager.

Rachel Ho • AFFILIATED FACULTY • Instructor, YST Conservatory of Music

A passion for performance art, education and using music as a tool to impact the community, Rachel Ho believes that it is her role as a 21st century portfolio musician to communicate, curate, and create music opportunities for society at large.

Rachel has curated performances that push the boundaries of traditional classical music settings, embracing innovation and inclusivity. She uses improvisatory and experimental elements as tools to create music that resonates with diverse audiences, including children, youth, the elderly, refugees, and dementia patients, both locally and internationally. Some of her projects include collaborations with St Luke’s ElderCare, Superhero Me, Singapore Girls’ Home, Global Village for Hope, and WoonZorgcentra Haaglanden (Residential Care Home for Dementia Patients). Rachel has presented about these creative community projects and their impact on intergenerational interactions, musical practices, and well-being at international symposiums such as the YST Performers(’) Present Artistic Research Symposium 2018, Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music International Symposium 2020, and Southeast Asian Directors of Music Congress 2021 and 2023.

Deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of arts leaders, Rachel has conducted workshops at Youth Arts Leaders Conference, and is part of the academic team of the Music and Society, Music Collaboration and Production majors and Masters of Music Leadership programme at YST. In her capacity, she fosters dialogues and introspection among these aspiring and accomplished musicians, encouraging them to reflect on their roles and discover ways to make meaningful contributions to society through their artistic pursuits.

Proficient in both baroque and modern flute, Rachel has performed extensively as a soloist and ensemble member. She is a founding member of Red Dot Baroque and has appeared with renowned orchestras such as the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Baroque Band, Ricciotti Ensemble, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers and Resound Collective. Rachel has also engaged in cross-cultural fusion collaborations with the Asian Contemporary Ensemble and The Vamshika Quintet. She has also represented Singapore as a Festival Artist at the 10th Asia Flutists Congress in Shanghai.

Rachel graduated as valedictorian of her cohort from YST, completing her undergraduate studies with a full scholarship in Flute Performance. She holds a Masters in Music Education from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Netherlands. Rachel is also involved in the SEADOM 30 under 30 project and was part of the 2021 cohort of the Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation. She is currently a full-time academic faculty at YST, teaching in contextual, professional integration, and flute area studies.

Jason Lai • AFFILIATED FACULTY • principal conductor, yst Conservatory orchestra • coach

Jason Lai is an international conductor, TV presenter, coach, facilitator, and counsellor.

He is the Principal Conductor at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Principal Guest Conductor at the Orchestra of the Swan, and former Associate Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta. He’s been a prominent figure in Singapore’s musical life since his arrival in 2010, but also active internationally giving masterclasses and concert.

Intent on broadening the appeal of classical music to audiences who would not normally think of going into a concert hall, Jason has built a unique reputation as a communicator with mass appeal through his television appearances in both the UK and Asia. He has appeared on the BBC as a judge in both the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and the classical talent show Classical Star. He was also a conducting mentor in the BBC series Maestro and won the competition with his celebrity protégé.

Since settling in Singapore he has continued with his television work and was presenter and conductor for Project Symphony, an eight part series which followed him in his quest to set up a community orchestra. Other shows for BBC World News include Heart of Asia exploring the contemporary arts and culture scene in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and the Philippines, and Tales from Modern China, a voyage through contemporary China. Most recently in Singing to Remember for Channel News Asia, Jason set out to test the theory that regular group singing in choirs helps slow down the damaging effects of dementia.

Jason is also an International Coaching Federation (ICF) PCC level coach who specialises in leadership training through his Conducting Leadership workshop. He has worked with numerous organisations and companies in many different sectors, these include accountancy, banking, healthcare, pharma and technology. He also offers coaching in presentation skills and presence work, and integral developmental work to aide his clients into deeper growth. His coaching and counselling work is integral in nature and aims to help his clients see their whole self, exploring the interaction between external and internal behaviours.

Jason’s roots lie in Hong Kong but he was born and educated in the UK, and moved to Singapore in 2010, a country he now calls home. His hobbies include drawing, painting, photography, cooking and cycling.