Tan Loke Chuah is a versatile musician armed with a Bachelor of Music Education (Hons) from the University of Toronto. Besides performing full-time with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO), he contributes to the Arts as a performer of both Western and Chinese percussion ensemble, an instrumental teacher, a percussion educator through master classes and clinics, a conductor of percussion groups and symphonic bands, as well as an arts administrator who saw the inception of the National Youth Percussion Festival.
Tan Loke Chuah received tutelage from Gregorz Markewicz (former Singapore Symphony Orchestra Percussion Principal), Russell Hartenberger (Nexus member), Robin Engelman (Nexus member), John Rudolf (Toronto Symphony Percussion Principal), Beverly Johnston (Solo Percussion Artist) and John Brownell (North York Symphony Timpanist) amongst others. He has been involved in the local music scene from young, through participation in the Singapore Youth Orchestra, NUS Orchestra, NUSS-SLT Orchestra, SSO and its Percussion Group, Singapore Armed Forces Chinese Orchestra and various other bands. He has performed overseas with North York Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, Toronto Wind Symphony, University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band, University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble, as well as Nishikawa Ensemble. He was also involved in several released recordings with SSO, SCO and Nishikawa Ensemble.
As conductor, he received guidance from Ivars Taurins (Founder-Director of Tafelmusik Chamber Choir) and Ormsby Wilkins (Music Director with The National Ballet of Canada) amongst others. He also attended conducting workshops in Canada. He was invited to conduct the percussion ensemble in the New Music Festival where he received first-rate reviews from both the composer and audience. He is currently conducting school bands in Singapore.
As an avid educator, he helped conceptualize the National Youth Percussion Festival in 2001 for young percussion players. Since then, the Festival holds annual training camps for budding youths, which aims to expose them to percussion excellence through good instructorship, master classes, first-rate performances and sharing ideas with guest performers.