It’s been a LONG time since I last blogged. Life, music and people have carried me into so many different worlds, and the journey has been thoroughly invigorating. My approach to teaching and learning has always been evolving, but it is shaped by a few core beliefs: growth mindset, Socratic questioning, first‑principles thinking, and a deeply metacognitive way of engaging with music. Through music and the arts, I understood how to learn - to develop and sustain wonderment, cultivate self‑awareness, regulate emotions, think strategically, and build reflective habits that support both artistic growth and personal agency. I’m always patiently searching for how to integrate these ideas into something beyond technique or curriculum; something simple, human, and deeply felt. A way of learning that honors curiosity, embodiment, and the quiet inner shifts that make growth possible.
After more than 15 years of teaching mostly 1‑1 violin lessons, managing Coronation Music School for more than a decade and always performing, I reached a point where I could carve out time to explore what I had never fully dived into: how to work confidently with larger groups of children, strengthen my classroom management, and integrate everything I’ve learned into a more holistic, arts‑based approach. I also sensed that I was ready to guide and support other professionals in their work, while still staying connected to children. The Wolf Trap opportunity arrived at exactly the right moment, and I’m grateful SRT accepted my application.
So! Since October 2024, I’ve had the absolute joy and privilege of serving as a certified Wolf Trap Teaching Artist with the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT). In short, I help preschool teachers and children learn through drama, music, movement, and storytelling, integrating performing arts strategies into everyday lessons so that classrooms become more joyful, confident and meaningfully engaged. These aren’t “music lessons.” Wolf Trap’s approach goes far beyond that. We use drama, dance, music, storytelling and puppetry as creative tools for teaching and learning, grounded in arts integration and effective professional development. I work closely with teachers to design lessons aligned with the MOE NEL Framework — Numeracy, Language & Literacy, Discovery of the World, and Social‑Emotional Competencies — so the arts strengthen, rather than sit outside of, the core curriculum. “Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is Wolf Trap’s 20th affiliate organization, and its first outside the United States. Singapore Wolf Trap serves children ages birth to six, as well as their educators, parents and caregivers, using Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts’ proven model, which pairs active arts-based learning experiences for children with powerful, effective professional development for early childhood educators.”
We were incredibly lucky to have Master Teaching Artist and puppeteer Penny Russell fly in from the States to spend an intensive week of training us. By the end of that week, I was overwhelmed with tears- a heart full of love, gratitude, clarity and excitement for what’s to come. What began as a new challenge has grown into one of the most meaningful chapters of my career. It has been a deeply fulfilling journey working alongside early childhood educators to bring the performing arts right into the heart of the classroom. My year is filled with 16-week residencies across up to 8 preschools. This usually works out to 2 sessions a week for each class, across 2 concurrent residencies, with children from N1-K2.
Initially, I had no idea what Wolf Trap was, nor did I realise that such an approach of teaching and learning existed at a large, structured level. Originating from the US, Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts program is a pioneering initiative that empowers educators to use the performing arts as powerful tools for teaching and learning in early childhood classrooms. Research in the States even shows that children in Wolf Trap-integrated classrooms gain the equivalent of 34 extra days of math learning in a year, along with stronger language and 21st-century skills. One of the most meaningful parts of this journey is being able to attend Wolf Trap’s professional development sessions live from the US via Zoom. It allows us to keep honing our craft, deepen our understanding, and continually learn what we don’t yet know- a reminder that growth is always ongoing.
One of my favorite parts of this work is the job-embedded coaching. During classroom residencies, I get to teach the lessons, modeling creative strategies that the teachers can immediately use in their classrooms. The goal is always sustainability: helping educators build a toolkit of arts-based approaches they can confidently carry forward long after the sessions end.
Honestly, this has been one of the biggest highlights of my career so far- something new and challenging, yet familiar and fun. However, this process is not always easy; every classroom is different, and every group of children brings new challenges. But that’s also what makes it so rewarding. I get to combine all my passions in one space- dreaming up creative lesson plans, making my own props and songs(!), and activities that truly work for both teachers and kids. The work brings me to different neighbourhoods across Singapore for an extended period of 16 weeks per residency, and I’ve loved discovering the many charming unseen sides of our island along the way. I also always bring my violin as a little surprise towards the end of each residency, and it never fails to stop the children in their tracks — many of them are hearing and seeing a violin for the very first time!🥹
The testimonials I’ve received remind me that this work isn’t just about arts or music activities. It’s really about empowering teachers, supporting quieter children, building confidence, strengthening relationships, and making everyday learning meaningful. These residencies have moved me to tears, especially when teachers share how much they’ve grown, discovered, or reclaimed in themselves through the process. The changes I’ve observed in the children- those with learning disabilities and those without, each carrying their own stories, some of them heartbreaking- have been eye‑opening and deeply heartwarming. Watching how they show up, participate and grow far beyond our 30-minute lessons has been one of the most profound parts of this journey. Their openness and reciprocity make the work deeply impactful not only for them, but for me as well.
This is the quiet, behind-the-scenes work that so many Wolf Trap Teaching Artists are doing every day- work that beautifully complements what our preschool teachers and countless other educators do too. I’m deeply grateful to SRT for bringing this program to Singapore, and it’s heartening to see the growing recognition and support from the wider education community for arts-integrated learning. Since end 2025, the Wolf Trap residency programme is also in partnership with National Institute of Education (NIE), which has come on board to officially conduct multi-year research into the impact of arts integration strategies towards teaching pedagogies and children learning within the Singaporean preschool context.
I’m grateful for every classroom, every teacher, every child, and every moment of discovery. As we continue to explore its impact and potential in Singapore’s early childhood classrooms, I’m excited for how this collaborative approach can shape more joyful, creative, and meaningful learning experiences for our youngest learners.
To date, I’ve worked closely with more than 150 children and counting! Here’s to continuing this journey with our fellow educators, Teaching Artists, children and the greater community- bringing the arts into the heart of early learning, where they truly belong!❤️
