Our Teachers
MS NINA BRANKOVANOVA - Violin
Ms. Nina began her music education at a very young age. She graduated from the National School of Arts in her hometown of Ruse, Bulgaria, and went on to earn a Master’s degree from the Bulgarian National Academy of Music in Sofia in 2010. Throughout her studies, she participated in masterclasses with distinguished musicians including Mintcho Minchev, Vanya Milanova, Jury Jislin, and Michael Frischenschlager.
She spent five years performing with the New Symphony Orchestra and served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Orpheus String Chamber Orchestra for three years. Additionally, she was Concertmaster of the National Academy’s Student Orchestra. Her love for orchestral playing led her to seek out further opportunities, including performing with the Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and the Ruse Festival Orchestra.
Ms. Nina has performed internationally in countries such as the USA, Argentina, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. After relocating to Asia, she continued her musical journey in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore.
Since 2011, she has been a full-time violin teacher at Tanglewood Music School. Many of her students have achieved outstanding results in both local and international music competitions, as well as music examinations. She has guided numerous young violinists in their preparation for entry into prestigious programs such as the School of the Arts (SOTA) and the Music Elective Programme (MEP) in Singapore.
Driven by her passion for music and love for children, Ms. Nina launched a special project in 2022 — the Musical Fairytales series. These fun and educational concerts are designed to inspire children and parents alike to explore the world of classical music together.
“I believe that as musicians, we have a mission to give people a reason to come to concert halls and connect with music. As teachers, we carry the responsibility of nurturing a love for music in every student and supporting them on this lifelong journey.”
MS KOMILA IZATULLOYEVA - Violin & Piano
In 2019, Ms. Komila Izatulloyeva completed her education at the Musical Lyceum named after Victor Uspensky in Uzbekistan. Her time at Uspensky Lyceum was marked by victories in numerous international violin competitions across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Italy. Concurrently, she actively participated in weekly charity concerts titled “From Children to Children.”
Subsequently, in 2020, Ms. Komila embarked on her Undergraduate Studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, studying under the guidance of Professor Zuo Jun. Throughout her academic journey, she had the privilege of attending masterclasses conducted by renowned musicians like Xi Chen, Ilya Konovalov, Nadir Khashimov, Amalia Hall, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Christoph Schickedanz, Shlomo Mintz, Qian Zhou, and others.
In addition to her work as a Violin teacher, Ms Komila is an accomplished Piano player who takes great pleasure in teaching Piano to both children and adults up to Grade 5.
Ms Komila is currently teaching Violin , Piano & Music Theory at Tanglewood Music School.
MS PATRICIA KRUG - Cello
Ms Patricia Krug obtained her Master in Music Education at the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany. She has had many years of teaching experience with students of all ages, specializing in both early childhood music pedagogy and violoncello. She has also worked with grammar schools and institutions of higher education.
Apart from her educational career, she gained a great deal of experience performing with orchestras in different countries like Germany, UK, Italy, Russia and Argentina.
MS YAFEN WANG - Piano
Ms. Yafen Wang boasts a diverse performance background encompassing classical, pop music, and music composition, including recitals, piano accompaniment, and chamber music. Additionally, she has experience in music activity planning.
In 2006, she successfully earned her Master’s Degree from the Graduate Institute of Collaborative Piano at Tainan National University. Subsequently, in 2009, she gained admission to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Ms Yafen is currently teaching Piano, Theory Aural and Piano Accompaniment at Tanglewood Music School.
MR YI KAI, SIM - Piano
MR JACOB LEONG - Classic Guitar
Mr Jacob Leong studied the classical guitar under the guidance of Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient Mr Alex Abisheganaden. He obtained a Diploma in Guitar music performance from Associated Boards Royal Schools of Music (UK).
He has participated in guitar competitions and was semi-finalist in 6th Singapore International Guitar Competition 2013.
With his in-depth knowledge in guitar pedagogy, Mr Leong have written a series of classical guitar methods titled “The Musical Strings” for Singapore government schools.
He has taught in various music institutions in Singapore and conducted guitar ensembles which participated in Singapore Youth Festival competitions.
Apart from teaching, Mr Leong has actively performed in concerts and Youtube. He also received individual masterclasses with world renowned guitarists: Shinichi Fukuda (Japan) and Miguel Trápaga (Spain).
MR LIEW WEE SING - Vocal
Mr Liew Wee Sing is a Lyric Tenor with distinct colour. His experience includes choirmaster in church choir for over 20 years and performed regularly in concerts as solo artist. Wee Sing adopts a systematic and holistic approach in voice training. His methodology is rooted in the Italian Bel Canto technique which inculcates solid foundation for freedom in singing, production of healthy, pure and unbroken ‘Chiaro scuro’ vocal tone.
Mr Liew participated in the 2018 National Art Gallery Sonic Blossom project, singing Schubert’s Lieder in the Art Gallery. He was awarded Gold prize in Vocal Bel Canto category and emerged overall champion in 2018 Singapore Raffles Cultural & Arts Festival Talent competition. In Aug 2019, Mr Wee Sing won the Gold award in China’s Yantai-Penglai Asia Pacific International Chorus & Solo Arts Festival Solo competition.
He has also obtained the LTCL diploma Singing recital from Trinity College London and completed his Master’s degree in music performance (Classical Singing) from University of West London.
We Are Hiring - Piano, Violin, Cello
If you are a motivated individual, passionated about Music and have a formal education in Music, we would love to have you on board.
