Hi!

My name is Jo Anne and I am an independent classical musician (bassoonist) from Singapore. I play the bassoon and playfully called it "MrBassoon" as I spend many hours practicing it and the nickname has somehow become my alter ego, as I was a quite shy and introverted person when I started my independent career.

I am starting this fundraiser to request financial support to pursue my Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York in the United States. The course is for approximately two years, starting in the Fall (August 2022). I will be mentored by Mr. Frank Morelli, who is one of the most respected bassoon pedagogues in the United States, particularly within the classical music industry. I have received a half-tuition scholarship from the university but the costs of moving to New York are significant, hence I am trying to raise more funding.

Since completing my undergraduate and graduate musical education at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, in Lugano, Switzerland (2009) I have been based in Singapore. I have been an active and committed member of Singapore’s classical music community both performing, teaching, and lecturing. I am now looking to enhance my academic acumen in order to pursue a career in academia. A Doctorate in Musical Arts would sharpen my academic knowledge and skills, as well as refine my performance, pedagogical, and research skills, preparing me to undertake rigorous academic research and assume a tenured full-time professorship in music at university to teach future generations of musicians. Being mentored by Mr. Morelli is one of my life-long dreams.

Here's a short message of support from Mr. Morelli:

Since returning to Singapore from my studies in 2011, I have been regularly performing as an orchestral musician in various orchestral ensembles with prominent Singaporean and Asian musical organizations. Such organizations include the Singapore Lyric Opera Orchestra (2011-13), the Orchestra of the Music Makers (2011-12), and the Resound Chamber Orchestra (2016-2018). I have also performed as a substitute musician in both the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since receiving my musical education I have also sought out various opportunities to contribute to Singapore’s classical music and higher education community. I have achieved this through conducting lectures about my specialist instrument: the bassoon and speaking on topics involving arts and music career management in both local institutions. I worked as an adjunct lecturer until May 2022 and lectured in arts management and music elective subjects. I also work as a private piano teacher and teach young children and teenagers.

While I do enjoy my portfolio career of lecturing arts management subjects and teaching piano, my long-term ambition is to become a bassoon professor at a music conservatory. My long-term ambition is to become a professor at a music conservatory, focusing on the bassoon. I have not been able to obtain such a position in Singapore yet. Singapore’s classical music industry is still in its nascent stage and traditional, and the path that I have chosen is more suited for an international market, allowing for a more autonomous and independent career. In the American classical music industry, there is a greater emphasis on freedom of expression and diversity, and they are more open to featuring musicians that are female, black, indigenous, and come from minority racial backgrounds.

Undertaking a Doctorate of Musical Arts would be essential to pursuing this ambition, with the aim of teaching in higher education. This sector in Singapore is currently very traditional and reliant on achieving academic qualifications and performing at well-regarded music organizations, many of which are based overseas. This was a core motivation for applying to US institutions, with esteemed and specialist professors like Mr. Frank Morelli. Many of Mr. Morelli’s former students lead very successful portfolio careers, in both professor and recording tracks.

I have been extremely proactive, organizing, co-producing, sourcing for, and curating my own concerts and recitals opportunities –I have also supported peers in the sector, helping present, produce, and program, over 15 performance opportunities for local musicians.

Since 2014, I have strived to develop my playing and musical technique, regularly attending international masterclasses and festivals to hone my craft and skills. In 2017, following Bram van Sambeek’s (bassoon soloist and professor) endorsement and guidance, I embarked on a career as a soloist and chamber performer, which culminated in realizing my ambition of recording a solo album. “The Night Garden” is my first presentation as a solo artist. I studied career management with my mentor Bernhard Kerres (former CEO of the Vienna Konzerthaus), and he assisted me to release the album under his music label, HELLO STAGE; it received many positive reviews from music critics. The album’s success led me to be invited to perform at the 2020 International Double Reed Convention (Iowa City, USA) and at the 2020 Seoul Bassoon International Festival which was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, I conceptualized, researched, produced, and released the digital concert series, “Letters to Mozart” (LTM), in Dec 2020 - an interdisciplinary project to celebrate Mozart’s music and life. “Letters to Mozart” was funded by the Digital Presentation Grant from the National Arts Council, and the Trailblazers Foundation and provided with in-kind support by VCHPresents from the Singapore Symphonia Group. The intention behind LTM was to bring classical music to a wider audience by showing a more sympathetic and realistic depiction of Mozart and humanizing him through his music and narration of his personal letters, by guest narrators like Marc Rochester and Lionel Choi.

A quote from my mentor, Bernhard Kerres:

I have always felt strongly about using my music to promote the social causes I believe in. In 2012, I supported the project, Impossible Orchestra (Melbourne), which raised awareness for the 2.6 million unpaid family carers in Australia. Invited by conductor Brett Kelly, I performed pro-bono alongside Australian musicians and was filmed in a documentary directed by Aaron Wilson. The concert went on for a continuous 24 hours at the Hamer Hall in Melbourne, in front of 6, 500 people, and reached 13.4 million Australians and an international audience (through a live webcast) in over 40 countries.

Watch the documentary here: https://vimeo.com/75753865

I also supported the “Save the Bassoon” campaign finale concert (Concertgebouw Hall, Amsterdam 2016). Thereafter, Dutch soloist Bram van Sambeek invited me to perform, alongside Dutch musicians on a Dutch TV show NPO “Holland Festival 2016”, an excerpt of "Grand Subphonia” composed by Merlijn Twaalfhoven. Feeling inspired by the Dutch campaign, I started my podcast “Legends of Reed” in 2018, to feature and celebrate top double reed musicians, and inspire and help spread information, about double reed instruments. I also wanted to share the knowledge I had gained from my masterclasses, musical training, and musician colleagues in a meaningful and impactful way.

I have always been a strong advocate of having fair and equal access to the arts and higher education. This has motivated me to share my knowledge of the arts and education with others who might not have the same access and privileges as me. Using my skills in writing, editing, digital marketing, audio recording, the podcast was entirely self-run and funded until 2022. The podcast, which is now in its third season, has grown in popularity since 2018 and now has 23,000 plays and listeners in over 76 countries around the world, demonstrating the global and local reach of my music and projects.

Podcast Link

I am always happy to contribute back to the community on important social issues, e.g. my album commented on mental wellness issues, and in my 2019 album release concert, I collaborated with two art therapists and offered an art therapy activity for the audience during the intermission, with accompanying hand pan music performed by Mohammad Noor. During and after the pandemic, greater awareness was given to the topic of mental wellness and I also intend to volunteer my services in a creative capacity with the Singapore Association of Mental Health.

I am also accustomed to featuring the names of all my Kickstarter donors on a dedicated page on my personal website and routinely featuring the names of previous supporters on the biography page of my website. I have also created many job opportunities and mentored younger musicians and regularly hire my former students as interns on my projects.

Using my established networks within Singapore’s classical music and music education sector, I intend to give back to Singapore by way of career mentoring (in person or online), organizing workshops and lectures on music/arts career management, as well as offering bassoon and wind playing master classes, and clinics. I would also seek to organize collaborations and masterclasses between musicians from New York and Singapore, providing local Singaporean and international musicians an opportunity to exchange knowledge and skills. As highlighted above, I am experienced in organizing events of this kind and thoroughly enjoy creating spaces to allow other Singaporean and international musicians to access arts and education. The annual costs that I am looking to fund to allow me to undertake a Doctorate of Musical Arts and cover associated expenses are:

• Tuition and fees USD $10,580

• Miscellaneous expenses USD $1,951

• Living costs: USD $17,645

TOTAL: USD 32,215 - approx. SGD 44,224

I am requesting assistance for SGD 25,000 which is approx. GBP 15,000. My British friend Ms. Heather Owen is assisting me with the crowdfunding campaign hence the platform is on a UK platform as I am not able to access the American GoFundMe platform.

I would be very grateful if you would consider supporting my doctorate studies by contributing to any of the fees and/or expenses that will be incurred.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration. I will be happy to answer any of your questions.