The Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence has been awarded eight times since its inception in 2012. Each of these recipients has gone on to shake the arts world in one way or another and co-inaugural recipient Emily Koh is no different.

Having received the Grant in 2012 alongside Kah Chun Wong, Emily’s career has taken her around the world. She has now settled in the USA where she is Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Georgia. However, like all great teachers, Prof’ Koh is also a fierce proponent of the craft she teaches, and this year she was recognised by the National Arts Council with a Young Artist Award.

We caught up with Prof’ Koh to learn more about her story since leaving NUS.

Congratulations on being recognized with a Young Artist Award! Given you were also one of the earliest recipients of the Paul Abisheganaden Grant for Artistic Excellence, what does this sort of recognition mean to you creatively?

Recognition affirms my previous work and encourages me to work harder, do better, and also take bigger risks in future endeavours. It also reminds me of my privilege as a musician, and of the social responsibility to inspire and encourage others to lead creative lives.

In the years since leaving NUS, you’ve settled in the USA and have become an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia. What stood out to you in the transition from performer to performer/educator?

I have been teaching since my NUS years. Teaching and composing go hand-in-hand for me, and I cannot imagine a life without one or the other. It is also my responsibility as a musician and artist to share my knowledge and experience with others. My students inspire me and keep me updated with what’s new and hot in town.

Sharing your passion for a field through teaching can be fraught with challenges. What drives you as an educator? What do you find inspires your students?

As an educator, I hope that my students are ultimately better than me. I reflect on my own education and try to share what I felt was relevant to me and fill in the gaps where needed. I hope to equip my students with skills they will need to be successful in whatever they want to undertake. This is of course different for every student, and sometimes the roles of teacher and student get reversed, which I am open to. There is also a lot of trial-and-error, guesses, leaps of faith and failures in the learning process, and that is all OK as long as we support one another and always keep trying.

As a composer, your works traverse a wide range of styles and instruments. What feeds you creatively and how do you know when a piece is successfully representing the ideas that inspired it?

I am a detail-oriented person and am interested in small interesting details in one’s day-to-day life that are easily overlooked. I try to bring out these special details and amplify them in my works. I also draw on the performers’ interest or style where possible. I always feel that the piece should be successful at the point of the double bar line, but unfortunately, I never know immediately if a piece really represents the ideas that inspire it because that is mostly up to the performer and audience’s imagination and interpretation.

Why the double bass? Surely there are easier instruments to travel with!

I had a choice between the double bass and cello, and I picked the one that was bigger and grander! I joined the Dunman High School Chinese Orchestra in secondary 1 because I was mesmerized by the ensemble at a CCA showcase. It became known then that I played piano, and so I was assigned to be in the lower strings section because I could read bass clef. I chose the double bass!

I also played cello for a few years in my youth but I’ve always been more attuned to the bass end of the spectrum.

You have studied and worked in many places around the world. What’s the biggest thing you miss from the music scene in Singapore?

The biggest thing I miss about the Singapore music scene is the sense of camaraderie and family among everyone. The Singapore music community is very tight knit, and everyone knows everyone. When I play a concert or a gig, it feels like a big family gathering all the time, especially with most rehearsals, or events ending with some sort of supper gathering! This is not quite the case in many parts of the world.

Many young people do not consider listening to classical music, let alone experimental compositions. What tracks would you recommend for an inquiring young mind?

I would encourage them to listen widely and be open to everything and anything. That said, the first listening assignment I set my students is to find a work created by someone with a very similar background to themselves and hear how that might be relevant to their lives. For a young inquiring mind in Singapore, go listen to Cheng Jin Koh, Cherry Chan (or other artists in Syndicate), or Zulkifle Mahmod, and attend as many live concerts, performances and presentations as one has access to!