Ripples: Mervyn Lee (piano) & Joey Lau (violin)

Joey Lau is a 23-year-old Singaporean violinist currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Violin Performance at the DePaul School of Music under the tutelage of Professor I-Hao Lee. She started learning the violin at the age of five at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) School Of Young Talents under the guidance of Duan Yu Ling and Liu Hao Yu. After six years of musical training at NAFA, she continued her violin studies at the School of The Arts, Singapore with Zhang Sijing and Edward Tan. At age 16, Joey gained early admission into Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, where she graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Violin Performance (Honours with Distinction). During her time there, she was taught by Professor Qian Zhou, Head of Strings, and Igor Yuzefovich, Concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Being the 2017 Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award Winner, Joey has been actively performing from a young age, which includes taking part in competitions and making appearances on local television and radio. She was awarded the 3rd Prize at the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (Violin Intermediate Category) in 2013, a Grand Finalist of Symphony 92.4’s Young Talents Project in 2014, and was also awarded the Platinum award at the 6th Singapore Performers’ Festival in 2016. After entering the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Joey was awarded the 3rd Prize at the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (Violin Senior Category) in 2017. In 2019, she became the recipient of the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence and also the 3rd Prize at the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (Violin Artist Category) the same year.

Joey’s performances and competitions are not only limited to home grounds; she has performed overseas in China, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States of America, Hungary, Myanmar, and Switzerland. In 2016, she clinched the 1st Prize and the Special Prize at the Danube International Concerto Competition 2016 (Youth Category) in Hungary. Joey was then invited back to perform with the Danube Symphony Orchestra in 2017, and at the same time, she won the First Prize in the Adult Category of the Danube International Concerto Competition 2017. Joey also took part in the Youth Music Culture Guangdong Festival Orchestra led by Yo-Yo Ma, as the concertmaster, and also Verbier Festival, as an associate concertmaster of the Junior Orchestra. Most recently, Joey has also been invited to participate in the Singapore International Violin Competition 2022.

Some of Joey’s notable solo performances would be performing at the 28th SEA Games Opening Ceremony in 2015 and also performing alongside the Orchestra of the Music Makers (OMM) in 2015 and 2016 as a winner of the SOTA-OMM Concerto Competition. In 2022, she was also featured in the Meadowmount School of Music concert series, which was live-streamed on the Violin Channel. Apart from solo playing, Joey is equally passionate about chamber playing. She was invited to perform at the Lee Kuan Yew water prize ceremony in 2014 with her string trio and clinched the Gold with Honours award together with her piano trio at the 2nd Singapore Raffles International Music Festival in 2015. In 2022, Joey’s chamber group was the winner of the DePaul Chamber competition where they were then invited to perform at the Honours Chamber Music Showcase. Another string quartet of hers which was formed at the Meadowmount School of Music was also selected to perform in the final chamber concert of the festival in the same year.

Joey attributes her growth in her musical journey towards her current and past teachers, and also to the various world-renowned violinists whom she had masterclasses with. To date, she had masterclasses with violinists Chai Liang, Lewis Kaplan, Itzhak Rashkovsky, Ani Schnarch, Nam Yun Kim, Midori Goto, Pierre Amoyal, Boris Kuschnir, Silvia Marcovici, Nadja Nevolovtisch, Joel Smirnoff, Ilya Kaler, and Shlomo Mintz. Joey also had chamber music lessons with the Tang Quartet, Albert Tiu, Zhang Manchin, Lim Yan, Ann Setzer, Yasuko Oura, Kikeui Ikeda, and masterclasses with the Endellion Quartet, the Amber Quartet, the Juilliard Quartet, the Jerusalem Quartet, and the Brooklyn Rider.

Having received support from the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Fund, as well as the Trailblazer Foundation, Joey continues to pursue her passion for music and hopes to inspire and bring joy to others through her performances. She is currently playing with a 1950 W.E. Hill & Sons bow on a generous loan from the Rin Collection.

“...a natural flair and sensitive touch ... That is what striving to become a true musician and artist is all about.”
— The Straits Times, Singapore

Singaporean pianist and Young Steinway Artist Mervyn Lee gave his first public performance at the age of ten during the "#1 Steinway" Roadshow held at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, making his debut a year later as soloist for the President's Young Performers Concert performing with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Under the guidance of Prof. Thomas Hecht, his outstanding performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor earned him Second Prize in the Conservatory’s 2014 Concerto Competition and he was subsequently engaged to perform the work with the Artsakh State Chamber Orchestra at the Tnjre International Festival of Young Musicians held in the Republic of Artsakh. He later became the First Prize winner and Grand Finalist of the 2015 Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Concerto Competition, and also took part in the 2015 National Piano and Violin Competition, achieving First Place in the piano senior category.

In addition to his pianistic endeavours, Mervyn also studies composition with Dr. John Sharpley. His output includes a piano trio, a violin duet, string quartet, and various works for piano. He recently premiered his work In Flux for solo piano as well as his Fantasy for Violin and Piano at the 7th SMTA Performer's Festival, attaining a Platinum Award for the composition category.

As a harpsichordist, he has performed on numerous occasions under Bach Collegium Japan conductor Masaaki Suzuki, as well as for numerous local early music performances. He currently pursues harpsichord studies with Arthur Haas, and is also a member of Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s premier Early Music ensemble.

Mervyn has worked with renowned musical figures such as Gabor Takács-Nagy, and Masaaki Suzuki, and has also performed for artists such as Steven Hough, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald and Christian Blackshaw. He recently graduated with a Master of Music in Piano Performance at the Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Dr. Marc Silverman.