Tan Jie Qing is a yangqin musician with Ding Yi Music Company in Singapore. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Yangqin Performance from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied under renowned yangqin virtuoso Qu Jianqing, Principal Yangqin of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. She furthered her studies with Ma Yingjun, a young faculty member of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
Jie Qing began learning the yangqin at the age of 13 under the guidance of Chen Yu Tat. In her early years, she was a member of the Chinese Orchestra of Foon Yew High School (Johor Bahru, Malaysia), where she appeared as a yangqin soloist at the school’s annual concert, performing Beautiful Africa with the orchestra and demonstrating remarkable musical talent. She later moved to Singapore to continue her studies, embarking on a professional career as a yangqin performer.
In recent years, Jie Qing has been an active presence in Singapore’s Chinese music scene and has received numerous accolades, including First Prize in the Yangqin Solo Open Category at the National Chinese Music Competition Singapore (2018), Third Prize in the Solo Open Category at the Nanyang International Music Competition (2017), and Third Prize in the Ensemble Category at the National Chinese Music Competition (2016). Besides being the resident yangqin musician with Ding Yi Music Company, she is a former Principal Yangqin of the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra and has collaborated with ensembles including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Æquilibrium, and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Orchestra. She is currently a guest musician with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, while continuing to actively promote the art of the yangqin.
Jie Qing has collaborated closely with Ding Yi Music Company in premiering numerous contemporary yangqin works in Singapore, including Ten-Mile Red Dowry by Wang Yun Fei and Formosan Blue Magpie by Wu Chia-Yu. She has also appeared frequently in instrumental theatre productions, taking on significant roles such as Hua Mulan in Mulan and Consort Yu in The Warlords. Through the yangqin’s distinctive timbre and expressive range, she brings nuanced emotional depth to these characters, breaking away from traditional performance formats and exploring the boundless possibilities at the intersection of music and theatre.
Jie Qing has performed internationally in countries and regions including China, Canada, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, and South Korea, and has premiered numerous chamber works. She continues to expand her international outlook, bringing the art of the yangqin to broader and more diverse stages.
