Royal Musical Association Southeast Asia 10th Anniversary Conference

Royal Musical Association (RMA) is UK’s leading learned society dedicated to the advancement of music scholarship. As part of its ongoing international engagement, the RMA Southeast Asia Chapter will be jointly organising its 10th anniversary conference at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore.

The 2026 conference will bring together a delegation of scholars, performers, and educators from Singapore, UK, Europe, US, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, representing leading conservatoires and universities in music. The 3-day programme from 8 to 10 May comprises keynotes, masterclasses, lecture-recitals, and curated paper sessions across areas such as performance historiography, creative pedagogies, cross-cultural expression, and music futures.

Marking a significant milestone for the region, this conference invites local and international participants to engage in sustained scholarly exchange and artistic inquiry, foster new collaborations, and contribute to the evolving landscape of music scholarship and practice within a dynamic cultural and technological context.

More information about the Southeast Asia Chapter is available at https://www.rmasea2026.com/

Follow us @royalmusicalassociation_sea on Instagram

Event Schedule

Friday, 8 May 2026
NAFA Campus 3, Lee Foundation Theatre Foyer and Recital Hall

14:00 - 14:30	Opening Address Yong Lye Yong Vice-President, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
14:30 - 15:30	Keynote The Importance of French Mozart Mysteries: Revisiting the Reception of the Egyptian Magic Flute as Les mystères d’Isis (Paris, 1801) Professor Simon Keefe President, Royal Musical Association
15:30 - 16:00	Refreshments
16:00 - 18:00	Presentation & Workshop The Transformation of Nanyin Vocal Style in the Modern Era: Institutional Education, Folk Transmission, and Pedagogical Practice Yayi Cai Nagasaki University, Japan Dr Yue Zhuo Cardiff University, UK Training Opera’s Next Generation Audrey Hyland Royal College of Music London Piano Masterclass Professor Kenneth Hamilton Cardiff University, UK
18:00 - 19:00	Intermission
19:00 - 21:00	Lecture-Recitals Historically-Informed? Evidence and Evasion in Contemporary Basso Continuo Practice Gerald Lim Harpsichordist, Independent Practitioner, Red Dot Baroque Singapore From San Petronio to the Concert Spirituel: The Bolognese Influence on the Rise of the Parisian Cello School Hyunkun Cho Baroque Cellist, Independent Practitioner South Korea / Spain

Saturday, 9 May 2026
NAFA Campus 3, Lee Foundation Theatre Foyer and VIP Reception

9:00 - 11:00	Paper Session 1: Pianistic Perspectives Chair: Professor Kenneth Hamilton, Cardiff University, UK Discover The ‘Unconfined’ Hand: The Practical Dilemma of Small-Handed Pianists and Potential Solutions Binyan Xu Royal Academy of Music, UK The Editor’s “Hand”: Comparison of Primary and Secondary Sources of Grieg’s Op. 43 Kelsie Cheng Chih-Ling Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Playing through Resonance: Embodied Approaches to Narrative Coherence in Beethoven’s Op. 110 Zilin Wang Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, China Reviving the Lost Art: A Practice-led Investigation into Historical Improvisation and Performer’s Voice in Nineteenth-century Repertoire Michelle Kwan Royal College of Music London, UK Paper Session 2: Creative Pedagogies Chair: Dr Ruth Rodrigues, Raffles Institution, Singapore Repositioning Partimento: Inclusive Harmonic Pedagogy in Indonesia Matthew Hansel & Sara Lorin Hernadi UPH Conservatory of Music, Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia Music Therapy Training as an Epistemic Practice: Improvisation as Dialogic Exchange Eta Lauw LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Rehearsing Belonging: Wellbeing and Intercultural Learning in a UK University P’ungmul Ensemble Yan Xin Ng Durham University, UK Multicultural Perspectives of Music Education in Vietnam Dr Quyet Tien Ly Eastern International University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
11:00 - 11:30	Refreshments
11:30 - 12:30	Paper Session 3: Integrating Analysis and Performance Chair: Dr Poumpak Chanuprakorn, Silpakorn University, Thailand The Performer’s Bodily Movements as Musical Analysis: Toward a “Physical” Approach that Generates an Analysis of the Piece Dr Federico Favali Conservatorio di Alessandria, Italy Lecture-Recital Interpreting Contemporary Asian-Inspired Repertoire Through Topic Theory – A Saxophone Case Study Associate Professor Chee Meng Low UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia Paper Session 4: Biography and Reception Chair: Dr Xin Ying Ch’ng, UCSI University, Malaysia Rethinking Performance Historiography: The Mutual Constitution of Biography and Reception in the Case of Fou Ts’ong Professor Danny Zhou Central Conservatory of Music Beijing, China Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany Tracing the Philippine Symphony’s Transnational History Rafael (Ardi) Echevarria Durham University, UK
13:00 - 14:00	Lunch
14:00 - 15:30	Session 5: Vocal Performance Practices Chair: Dr Jennifer Ku, Independent Scholar, Singapore Vernacular Imprints within the Inner Melody: A Lecture-Recital on Chinese Folk Songs in Original Dialects Xiaobo Su Beijing Normal University, China Dr Chenshayang Huang Hebei Normal University, China When “I Can” Becomes Conditional: A Practice-Led Study of Self-Efficacy Formation in Vocal Rehearsal Weng Yu UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia
14:00 - 15:30	Paper Session 6: Autoethnographic Approaches Chair: Associate Professor Chee Meng Low, UCSI University, Malaysia From Reflection to Action: Using Positive Autoethnography in Practice-Led Vocal Performance Research Xutian Zhang UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia A Structured Framework for Vocalise Etude Training: Integrating Experiential Learning and Deliberate Practice in Vocal Pedagogy Mengxi Hu UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia Ekliptiklang: Bridging Musical Expression and Extra-musical Concepts with Spectral and Electronic Music Techniques Sri Hanuraga UPH Conservatory of Music, Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia
15:30 - 16:00	Refreshments
16:00 - 17:00	Paper Session 7: Interpreting Song Chair: Dr Jessica Hsing An Chen, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Singing the Unseen: A Practice-Led Inquiry into Ned Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen Dr Chichou Hsieh Independent Scholar, Taiwan Portrayals of Loss, Grief, and Sehnsucht in Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang, D957: An Analytical and Interpretative Study Estelle Goh Independent Scholar, Singapore Experimental Music and Multimedia Monodrama As it Was, As it Turns, As it’s Fated 《原来，圆来，缘来》 Chen Yifan Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
17:00 - 18:00	Roundtable with Opera Experts, Performers, and Practitioners The Role of Western Opera in Contemporary Southeast Asia Moderated by Professor Monika Hennemann Co-Convenor, RMA Southeast Asia Chapter Cardiff University, UK Panelists Dr Chang Tou Liang, Family Physician and Music Critic, Singapore Gabriel Faja, Founder of Soundskool Music, Arts Entrepreneur, Phnom Penh Lim Yau, Artistic Director, School of Music, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Shridar Mani, Company Manager & Co-Artistic Director, The Opera People Ltd, Singapore Professor Nancy Yuen, Hong Kong Academy of Music/Artistic Director, Singapore Lyric Opera
19:00 - 21:00	Conference Dinner

Sunday, 10 May 2026
NAFA Campus 3, Lee Foundation Theatre Foyer, VIP Reception and Recital Hall

10:30 - 11:30	Paper Session 8: Hybridity and Cross-Cultural Expression Chair: Associate Professor Chee Kong Ho, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore Composing Musical Hybridity Chenwei Wang Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore Beyond the Concert Hall: Organised Terrace Chanting as Public Musical Performance in Professional Football Xiaokai Guo City University, Malaysia Paper Session 9: Global Perspectives on Popular Culture Chair: Dr Darren Moore, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Beyond Borders: Mapping Global Production Networks and Musical Characteristics in K-pop Jiwon Kwon University of Pennsylvania, USA Hearing “Beat It” in the Yibin Dialect: Parody, Consumerism, and Sonic Politics in Take Me Home (“Yibin Le”) Dr Nana Wang Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China
11:30 - 12:00	Refreshments
12:00 - 15:00	Paper Session 10: Programming Chair: Professor Karst de Jong, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore Jostling for Air Time: Radio Music Programming and Listenership in the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (BMBC), 1935–1940 Dr Xin Ying Ch’ng UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia Identity, Locale, and Concert Programming Music by Southeast Asian Composers Dr Ning Hui See Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Workshop Chair: Professor Monika Hennemann, Cardiff University, UK Building Belonging: Finding Common Ground in Music and Movement Cheow Cai Wong & Ben Choong Startup Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
12:30 - 14:00	Lecture-Recital Chair: Professor Simon Keefe, University of Sheffield, UK How 20th Century French Women Composers Shaped Female Characteristics and Conveyed Female Voices through Works for Flute Rui Wang (Caroline) Independent Scholar, Flautist Reframing Virtuosity as Creative Inquiry: Advancing Piano Technique through Three Vignettes from Late Romanticism to Contemporary Repertoire Dr Poom Prommachart Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore
14:00 - 15:00	Panel Discussion: Career Futures in Music Moderated by Dr Rebecca Kan Local Organising Chair, RMA Southeast Asia Chapter Anniversary Conference Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Panelists Professor Simon Keefe, J. R. Hoyle Chair of Music, University of Sheffield, UK Associate Professor Chee Meng Low, UCSI University, Institute of Music, Malaysia Lu Heng, Community Impact (Choral Programmes), Singapore Symphony Orchestra Dr Poom Prommachart, Head, Junior Music (School of Young Talents), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore Dr Ruth Rodrigues, Co-Convenor, RMA Southeast Asia Chapter, Assistant Head of Department (Aesthetics), Raffles Institution, Singapore
15:00	Closing Remarks and Future Perspectives
15:30 - 17:00	Cultural Showcase National Library Exhibition The Albatross File: Singapore's Independence Declassified
18:00	Singapore Symphony Orchestra Concert Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage, Singapore Botanic Gardens