An Unconventional Start

On the strength of his perseverance and a few lucky breaks, Mr Ng Eng Kee turned his passion for music into a teaching career.

As a young boy, Ng Eng Kee didn’t have the opportunity to take up private music lessons. In fact, he didn’t even know what a piano was until he entered primary school. Today, Mr Ng sings, composes, and plays the trumpet and erhu despite his late start in formal music training. He’s also the Head of Aesthetics at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School.

Mr Ng’s earliest memories of music were of popular soundtracks of Hong Kong films, which his father played on their vinyl turntable at home. He was drawn to the melodious voices of the singers and the songs piqued curiosity in music. This passion grew over time through opportunities in school. 

“In every child, there is a need for encouragement from adults,” Mr Ng says. He’s thankful to have met teachers who supported him in his pursuit of music.

Feeling the tempo

Mr Ng enjoyed his music lessons as a student at Havelock Primary School. He recalls how his music teacher, Mr Ong, played the accordion and sometimes the piano with much gusto as the students sang one song after another.

Thanks to his teacher’s encouragement, Mr Ng joined a choir at the community centre. Mr Ng remembers how after one particular practice session, Mr Ong praised him and a few others for being the stars of the choir. It boosted Mr Ng’s confidence and made him realise that he could be good at music.

“These affirmations were important because they were from an adult that I looked up to and respected,” Mr Ng says. “That got me started on really liking music.”

When Mr Ng moved on to secondary school, he wanted to continue singing but the school only had a girls’ choir. He joined the military band and learned how to play the trumpet instead. “I didn’t resist the option too much because it was connected to music,” he says.

True to his self-starter attitude, he tried playing difficult pieces right from the get-go. He had a knack for playing by ear – he even transcribed the score of popular Hong Kong TV series Xiaoli Feidao (The Romantic Swordsman) by listening to it repeatedly.

“It could be just another piece of work for those who have piano background, but it meant a lot to me,” Mr Ng says. “I remember playing the song on the trumpet again and again because I was so proud of it.”

Mr Ng continued pursuing this passion in music in junior college. He joined the Chinese Orchestra where he learned to play the erhu.

Aiming higher

Mr Ng eventually chose to further his studies at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) so that he could specialise in music. Despite knowing that he fell short of the entry requirements for the diploma programme, he went for the audition, where he met the programme’s Head of Department, Mdm Soh Eng Keng. After assessing his interest and intent, Mdm Soh decided to take him in as a private student. It was another lucky break for Mr Ng.

“I was quite naïve back then. I really just wanted to take up music. I think that sincerity moved her,” Mr Ng says.

After training for half a year, he was accepted as a full-time student to study music at the institution. It was then that Mr Ng had the privilege of learning from Mr Phoon Yew Tien and the late Mr Leong Yoon Pin. Both were prolific composers who received the Cultural Medallion for their contributions to the music scene in Singapore. Mr Ng matured as a musician under their tutelage. Upon graduating from NAFA, he went to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in vocal performance at the University of Houston.

Teaching with pride

By the time Mr Ng returned to Singapore, he was 30 years old and in need of a job. He was hired as an interim band instructor at Ghim Moh Secondary School. Within four months, he trained the band to execute a series of neat formations for their marching assessment at a competition. The band went on to win a merit award for their effort. Subsequently, he received requests to be the band or choir instructor for other schools and found satisfaction from these teaching stints. He eventually signed up to be a full-time teacher.

“Music is about experiences. It’s not so much about squeezing content or skills but allowing the students to enjoy the process of music-making,” Mr Ng says. He keeps his lessons light-hearted and finds creative ways to explain abstract theories. To demonstrate a note duration, for example, he swings his arms – alternating the motions between short and vigorous to long and drawn out. These actions usually make the students laugh and they tend to remember the lesson better.

Mr Ng says music has given him a direction in life and allowed him to forge a career which has lasted for the past 17 years. He’s thankful to the teachers who encouraged him to fulfil his ambition. Now, as an educator, he hopes to share his knowledge and love for music with the younger generation. 

This story is reproduced by permission of the publisher, the Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts.