Dr. Leonard Tan is Assistant Professor of Music at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He earned his Ph.D. in music education from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where his philosophical dissertation, written under the supervision of Estelle Jorgensen, was awarded the “Dean’s Dissertation Prize” for its “exemplary scholarship, brilliant execution and defense.”
An internationally-known scholar in music education, he has published prolifically in several major journals, including the Journal of Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Philosophy of Music Education Review, Research Studies in Music Education, Music Education Research, Journal of Band Research, Music Educators Journal, UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, Pastoral Care in Education, and Educational Philosophy and Theory. He has contributed to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, written encyclopedia entries for SAGE Publications, and has been awarded book contracts by Oxford University Press and Indiana University Press. He is Assistant Book Review Editor of the Philosophy of Music Education Review, serves on the Editorial Committees of Music Educators Journal and International Journal of Music Education, and frequently reviews manuscripts for major music education and philosophy journals.
Dr. Tan maintains an active profile as a conductor. He studied conducting with David Effron, Arthur Fagen, and Stephen Pratt in the US, and with Leif Segerstam and Alexander Polischuk in Russia. He has conducted orchestras and wind ensembles across all age groups, from educational to professional ensembles, including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore National Youth Orchestra, The Philharmonic Winds, the Indiana University Orchestras and Summer Concert Band, several American high school and honor bands, and ensembles in Singapore throughout all age groups. Singapore’s The Straits Times has praised his “masterfully helmed” performances of “rare blazing intensity,” while the American press lauded his “artful conducting.” He has also adjudicated in festivals throughout Asia and the US.
In demand internationally as guest conductor, pedagogue, adjudicator, and scholar, he has presented his research at major international conferences around the world, delivered lectures/keynotes at the University of Kansas, University of South Florida, Nanjing University of the Arts, and Indiana University, and served as guest clinician at Colorado State University Pueblo, University of Hawaii, and University of the Pacific.