Amanda Kye Tan is a Singaporean conductor and violinist. Currently a conductor of the Kids’ Philharmonic Orchestra (Singapore) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences Philharmonic, she earned her Master of Music (Conducting) from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee (USA), where she studied with Bruce Hangen, alongside additional studies in violin with Lynn Chang and dance conducting with Geneviève Leclair. She also holds a Bachelor of Music (Violin) from the Royal College of Music (London), and a Specialist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore). Amanda is a 2022 recipient of the Singapore National Arts Council Arts Scholarship.
Amanda made her conducting debut in 2019 with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra under the mentorship of Tsung Yeh. The following year, she was appointed Conducting Fellow of the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, after two years as Associate Principal 1st Violin. Expounding upon her interest in community music-making, in 2023, Amanda founded the Last Minute Orchestra, an annual orchestra camp dedicated to performance and networking opportunities for avocational musicians in Singapore. Beyond Singapore’s waters, Amanda has participated in masterclasses by Sian Edwards, Neil Varon, Peter Stark, Apo Hsu, Kirk Trevor, Sarah Ionnaides, and Dianne Wittry, and assisted Codrut Birsan in a production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Chicago Summer Opera.
During her time in the US, Amanda worked closely with Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians Robert Sheena and Owen Young by conducting and assisting their orchestral repertoire classes. She also co-founded and conducted the Boston Conservatory Pops Orchestra in a concert of music from Nintendo games, in collaboration with Berklee College of Music’s Screen Scoring Department.
As a freelance violinist, Amanda performs regularly with The Philharmonic Orchestra (Singapore), Musicians’ Initiative (Singapore), The Apollo Ensemble of Boston, as well as theatre groups such as Boston University on Broadway. Also a keen academic, she teaches music history as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and works as a scriptwriter for Twoset Violin.
