Founder
Khew Yun Zhen LTCL, BMus (Honours)
Khew Yun Zhen began her personal music odyssey at the age of three, learning the piano with pianist Chew Kuan Ni and the violin with her father, Khew Chwee Mun. At the age of six, she was accepted into Yamaha Music School’s Special Talent Piano Course, where she studied with Glory Lim, an influential teacher during her formative years.
In 2009, Yun Zhen furthered her musical studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney, under acclaimed Dutch-Australian pianist and pedagogue Gerard Willems AM. His mentorship played an important role in shaping her holistic understanding of musicianship, performance and teaching. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in 2013 and was also awarded the Licentiate of Trinity College London in Piano Performance (LTCL).
Teaching Philosophy
Since returning to Singapore, Yun Zhen has been an active advocate for music education and appreciation. She believes that musical learning extends beyond acquiring technical proficiency at the instrument. Students should be given opportunities to listen, move, perform, explore and develop a meaningful relationship with music.
Her teaching is grounded in the belief that every student develops differently. While she values discipline, perseverance and thoughtful practice, she is equally attentive to each student's individual needs, allowing them the time and space to discover and grow as musicians.
Yun Zhen seeks to make classical music accessible and meaningful to her students through a holistic musical education that includes performance opportunities, concert-going, musical history and culture, aural development, movement and creative exploration.
Her students have participated in performances and competitions including the Brilliant Talent Discovery Awards International Music Competition, Steinway Youth Piano Competition, and Kayserburg International Youth Piano Competition.
Dalcroze Eurhythmics & Professional Development
Yun Zhen's interest in embodied music learning led her to pursue extensive training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to music education that develops musicianship through movement, rhythmic experience, aural training and improvisation.
She attained the Dalcroze Eurhythmics Intermediate Award from the Dalcroze Eurhythmics International Examination Board (DEIEB) and subsequently continued her studies with the Dalcroze School of Music and Movement in the USA, where she has completed Levels 3A and 3B. She is currently continuing her training towards attaining the full Dalcroze Certificate.
Her Dalcroze studies have increasingly shaped her approach to teaching. Through movement, listening, improvisation and physical experience, she encourages students to experience musical concepts before intellectualising them, developing a deeper awareness of rhythm, phrasing, expression and musical structure.
She continues to explore ways of integrating these principles into both her individual piano teaching and group music-and-movement programmes at The Piano Odyssey.
The Piano Odyssey
Yun Zhen founded The Piano Odyssey with the belief that music education is a continuing journey of discovery, extending beyond examinations and achievements.
An important part of this journey is giving students meaningful opportunities to perform and share their music. Yun Zhen regularly organises student recitals and performance opportunities, providing a supportive platform for students to develop confidence, musicianship and stage experience while sharing their musical growth with family, friends and the wider studio community.
As her interest and training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics developed, Yun Zhen created Happy Feet Club, a Dalcroze-inspired music-and-movement programme for young children. Through movement, singing, listening, improvisation and imaginative play, children experience musical concepts physically before gradually connecting these experiences to musical understanding.
Happy Feet Club reflects Yun Zhen's belief that musicianship can begin long before formal instrumental study. By allowing children to experience elements such as pulse, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, phrasing and musical character through their bodies, she hopes to nurture natural musical responses, curiosity and a joyful connection with music from an early age.
Alongside Happy Feet Club and her individual piano teaching, Yun Zhen continues to explore ways of bringing movement, listening and creative musical experiences into her work at The Piano Odyssey, creating an environment where students can develop confidence, curiosity and a lasting relationship with music.
Performance
From 2014 to 2017, Yun Zhen performed regularly with the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra as principal pianist. Her orchestral work included performances of major repertoire such as John Adams' The Chairman Dances, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite, and Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring.
In 2016, Yun Zhen and her colleagues were invited by Steinway Serenade at Steinway Gallery Singapore to present a chamber music recital. In the same year, she attended the Savonlinna Music Academy Summer Masterclass in Finland, where she performed Mendelssohn's Piano Trio at Melartin Hall.
In March 2021, Yun Zhen was commissioned to perform Brian Bromberg's Here, Forward at 10 Square and at Madison Academy of Music's concert, IMAGINE.
Collaborative Piano
Yun Zhen has also been actively involved in collaborative music-making. She has worked with the Kodály Academy of Music (Singapore) as a piano accompanist and, in 2014, collaborated with Odyssey Dance Theatre during its 6th DanzINC Festival, providing live accompaniment for the dance work SomeWhere.
Outside of music, Yun Zhen enjoys baking, walking in nature and practising Pilates. A lifelong dancer, she also brings her background and interest in movement into the way she experiences and teaches music.