Page 45 - NAFA Annual Report 2017/2018

Leaving a Living Legacy

through Music

Music can be described as a wonderful medium capable of bringing people together,
and instituting international brotherhood, love and peace. The importance of music
in our lives is evident in all aspects. It holds a very special place for NAFA, and three
musicians have heightened its importance by leaving a living legacy to the Academy.
The late Leong Yoon Pin was a renowned composer, conductor and music
educator. He was well known for his choral compositions, many of which were
locally commissioned and performed by both amateur and professional choirs
and orchestras. In 2012, the family and beneficiaries of the late Leong Yoon Pin
generously donated S$500,000 to NAFA, to establish the Leong Yoon Pin Music
Fund continuing his music education legacy. The Leong family chose NAFA as
the beneficiary because NAFA is a renowned and highly regarded tertiary music
institution, with good library facilities, and NAFA shares Leong Yoon Pin’s aspiration
to promote music in Singapore.

In the same year, NAFA received another generous donation, of S$500,000, from
the Estate of Lucien Wang. The donation was used to establish the Lucien Wang
Scholarship (Degree), to give underprivileged and needy students the opportunity to
study the arts. The late Lucien Wang was a famous piano teacher in Singapore, who
spent more than 40 years of her life teaching and nurturing many of the country’s
most talented musicians, such as Ong Lip Tat, Lim Jing Jing and Benjamin Loh.

Another dedicated music teacher, the late Ng Soh Shan, also left her mark at NAFA
by setting up a bequest to fund merit awards for the benefit of needy music students.
Ng was in NAFA’s pioneer batch of Music alumni. She graduated in 1987, with a
Diploma in Music, and then dedicated her life to teaching the piano. She was fondly
remembered by her students and friends. After she lost her battle with cancer, NAFA
received a donation of S$456,436 from her estate in 2015. In accordance with her
last wishes, the donation was used to set up the San San Music Merit Awards, to be
given to one degree student and one diploma student each year.

NAFA is immensely grateful to all its donors for leaving their living legacy to the next
generation of aspiring musicians and artists. Their generosity gives us hope, and
serves as a reminder that philanthropic efforts are so important to the arts.

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