Samuel Wong

Creative Director / Pipa

Dr Samuel Wong is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of The TENG Company, a not-for-profit Major Grant Arts Company in Singapore. TENG is one of the largest music companies in Singapore. He spearheads the company’s Artistic Innovation, Social Impact and Industry Empowerment Divisions.

Samuel obtained his PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Sheffield in 2009 where he was awarded dual scholarships from the Harry Worthington Foundation and the Hokkien Huay Kuan for his doctoral studies in music.

Harnessing the power of music for the greater good, Samuel’s work at TENG is characterised by the use of music in applied settings and innovating within tradition. Samuel’s key initiatives include: Stories from an Island City (2016), revisiting Singapore’s forgotten lullabies and folksongs; TENG Gives Back (2018), live music performances in collaboration with music therapists that help to bring comfort to patients in clinical settings; The Mapletree-TENG Scholarship (2018), providing music scholarships and mentorship to talented children from underprivileged families; The Forefathers Project (2019), researching, documenting and reimagining Singapore’s dying traditional Chinese dialect musics; Music for Mindfulness (2023), evidenced-based music that uses binaural beat technology to alleviate stress and anxiety and SMRT Train Chimes (2023), the creation of train and station music to aid the visually handicapped with commuting.  

Samuel was awarded The Outstanding Young Persons of Singapore Award (2009), The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Foundation’s Culture Award (2009) and Singapore Institute of Management’s Teaching Excellence Award (2012) for his work in Music and Education. In 2021, Samuel was listed in Prestige Magazine’s “40 under 40” list of Singapore’s most successful, influential and innovative young people.

Samuel is also author of the books “Impressions of a Pipa Player” (2003), “QI: An Instrumental Guide to the Chinese Orchestra” (2005) and co-author of “The TENG Guide to the Chinese Orchestra” (2019). His books are used as reference texts for the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level Music Examinations in Singapore.

Samuel has lectured extensively on topics pertaining to cultural entrepreneurship and innovation in institutions such as The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts, Yale-NUS, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Nanyang Technological University, Silpakorn University, Rangsit University, ASEAN Committee for Culture and Information (ASEAN-COCI) and the National Arts Council (NAC).

In his youth, Samuel was described by the Singapore Business Times as “one of the best Pipa players in Singapore” and was a two-time Pipa Champion at Singapore’s National Chinese Music Competition (2000, 2002). He has performed internationally in over 30 cities including New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, London, Copenhagen, Bangkok and Melbourne. Samuel was also a featured soloist in Singapore’s National Day Parade (2009), Youth Olympic Games (2010) and the Shanghai World Expo (2010).

Samuel is currently Adjunct Faculty at University at Buffalo-Singapore Institute of Management and Dissertation Supervisor at Lasalle College of the Arts – two positions that he has held for over 14 years. He is also a Council Member of the Singapore Chinese Music Federation and a Board Member with Along the Edge Ltd, an arts festival based in Hong Kong.