Our Faculty
At our academy, we are proud to have a team of highly qualified and nurturing music faculty who are passionate about instructing students of all ages and skill levels. We are dedicated to providing a supportive and inspiring environment that encourages creativity, self-expression, and a lifelong love for music. Come meet us and discover the joy of music making at Clementine!
Melody Teoh
Masters in Viola Performance & Suzuki Violin Pedagogy, Cleveland Institute of Music (USA)
Founder & Strings Principal
Started off with piano and violin at the age of 5, Melody completed the Associated Board of Royal School Music Grade 8 in distinction for both instruments when she was 12. She later joined the viola section of Singapore National Youth Orchestra at the age of 15 and became Principal Violist under the direction of Darrell Ang. During her time with the orchestra, they toured Aberdeen, Scotland & Berlin, Germany. She was also selected as a student artist in 2012 to tour in Germany with The Knights, a chamber orchestra from New York. Melody graduated as part of the inaugural batch of School of the Arts, Singapore, having studied with Dr Tan Wee Hsin, Lim Soon Lee & Lynnette Seah. Turning down scholarships from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory - NUS & University of Wellington, NZ, she went on to study viola performance with Mark Jackobs, Jean Wall Bennett Chair in The Cleveland Orchestra, at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music. She completed her Bachelors of Music in 2017 and subsequently Masters of Music in 2018 at CIM, where she also took a Suzuki Violin Pedagogy under Kimberly Meier-Sims, a direct teacher-lineage to John Kendall, founder of the Suzuki method in USA, as well as Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.
Melody currently conducts the junior string ensemble at Nanyang Girls High School and maintains a busy performing schedule. She has coached string players at ACS (Independent), Raffles Institution, River Valley High School, ACS International, and Singapore National Youth Sinfonia. She has also performed with Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, Musicians Initiative, among other ensembles. Melody also founded Meraki string quartet, available to hire for private events.
Gloria Parn,
Masters in Violin Performance & Theory, Cleveland Institute of Music (USA)
Violin & Theory Instructor
Gloria Parn is a violinist based in Singapore and currently working as a freelance violinist and violin teacher. She graduated with a Master of Music in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Music Theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). At CIM, she studied with Ivan Zenaty, Stephen Rose and Philip Setzer, each of them molding her into the all-rounded musician she is today. In Singapore, she studied with Lynette Lim, Yin Ke, and Qian Zhou, and has had the opportunity to have masterclasses with Jonathan Ong, Ilya Konovalov and Siow Lee Chin, all of whom have been big inspirations and influences in her growth as a musician.
​
During her time in the US, Gloria performed with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and participated in festivals such as Music Fest Perugia, Texas Music Festival and the National Orchestral Institute. In the summer of 2017, she had the opportunity to perform Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor in Singapore’s Esplanade Recital Hall as a soloist. Presently, Gloria performs actively with local ensemble groups such as the Wayfarer Sinfonietta, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra and the Musicians’ Initiative.
Erlene Koh
Masters in Viola Performance & Eurhythmics, Cleveland Institute of Music (USA)
Group Suzuki / Eurythmics Instructor
Erlene Koh, Viola, is from Singapore and has recently completed both her Bachelors of Music and Masters of Music degree in Viola performance with a Eurhythmics minor at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) in 2022. She studied with Lynne Ramsey, Assistant Principal Viola of The Cleveland Orchestra. She has performed in viola masterclasses with Robert Vernon, Wesley Collins, Choong-Jin Chang, Karin Brown, Katherine Murdock and Daniel Foster.
Erlene, with her string quartet (Heilerin Quartet), has participated with in CIM’s Intensive String Quartet Seminar in 2017 and in the Cuban Youth Orchestra exchange program in 2018 and 2019 for outreach performances. Ms. Koh was coached in chamber music her group and various other groups with Danish String Quartet, Miami String Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Si-Yan Darren Li, Tom Stone, Todd Philips, Philip Setzer, Jaap Ter Linden and Peter Salaff. During her summers she has attended, all on full scholarship, Asian Youth Orchestra (2015) Kent Blossom Music Festival (2017) and National Orchestral Institute (2018) and Texas Music Festival (2019), where she was appointed Viola Principal.
Since returning to Singapore, she has recently attained a freelance Viola section position with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She is also now a member of the Red Dot Baroque, who are currently artiste-in-residence of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. As a teacher, Erlene has a private violin, viola and music theory studio. She also has experience as a music instructor for the violin and viola at Anglo-Chinese School international, Singapore Korean International School and Temasek Junior College
Sakura Yamakawa
Diploma, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Violin Instructor
Starting the violin at the age of 4, Sakura has always been a keen performer. Having the privilege to study under mentors such as Ms Masako Suzuki White, Mr Alexander Souptel (former SSO concert master), by the age of 9 she had performed in front of highly respected persons such as His Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Sakura has graduated from School Of The Arts Singapore (SOTA) with an Certificate in International Baccalaureate Career Related Program. Over the years in SOTA, she has been selected multiple times for the Arts Excellence Programme which gave her the opportunity to travel to countries such as The United States of America, Germany and Austria to receive masterclasses from various well respected artists such as Professor Yuri Zhislin and Professor Michael Vaiman.
Ms Yamakawa has also had many performances in SOTA, and performed at the Business Awards in 2018 in front of President Halimah Yacob.
Sakura is currently enrolled in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) to attain a Bachelor of Music with Honors. She teaches fluently in both English & Japanese.
Lydia Tan
Diploma, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Piano Instructor
Lydia Tan started her musical journey at the young age of 4, enrolling into the School of Young Talents at 6. Under the tutelage of Lim Tshui Fang, she attained her grade 8 ABRSM distinction at the age of 10. She then graduated from the IBCP programme in 2020, specialising in Music Performance.
Over the years, Lydia participated in many competitions such as the Steinway & Sons Singapore and National Piano and Violin competitions. She was also a recipient of a scholarship for the Royal Scotland Conservatoire summer academy and prominent music conservatoires such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Throughout her musical journey, Lydia has also participated in masterclasses with notable pianists such as Aaron Shorr, Ralf Gothoni, Helen Krizos , Dmitry Shishkin and Fali Pavri and Foo Mei Yi.
​
Ms Tan has since been teaching both piano and music theory. As an accompanist, she is also commissioned in various ABRSM violin exams. She is able to teach fluently in English and Chinese, with students under her supervision preparing for ABRSM practical and theory examinations. Lydia is currently enrolled in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) to attain a Bachelor of Music with Honors.