Biography
Singaporean pianist Loh Shu Han has firmly established himself as a performer, accompanist, musicologist, and educator. A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Shu Han graduated with a Master in Music degree and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Royal Northern College in 2015 and 2013 respectively, studying under the tutelege of eminent British pianist Paul Janes. In 2014, Shu Han was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music (FRSM) in Piano Performance, joining just a handful of musicians worldwide to have been awarded this prestigious accolade. Shu Han was also awarded a half-scholarship to attend the 2013 Chethams International Summer School for Pianists, where he had masterclasses with Professor Gabriel Kwok, Head of Keyboard Studies at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, and the internationally acclaimed pianist Carlo Grante.
Most at home as a collaborative musician and an accompanist, Shu Han is frequently sought after as an accompanist for music examinations and choirs. In the concert season 2016/2017, he has worked with renowned soprano Khor Aiming as choral rehearsal pianist on numerous occasions, accompanying the Vocal Associates Children’s Choir, The Joy Chorale, as well as the East Coast Choir. He also frequently collaborates with Malaysian tenor Raymond Lee Pei Khoon, having accompanied his choirs and vocal students for competitions and examinations, where they have had numerous successes as a conductor and pianist pair in competitions and examinations. In October 2018, Shu Han was asked by a long time friend to be her piano accompanist in the Final Round of the Osaka International Music Competition in Osaka.
During the course of his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, Shu Han had also frequently collaborated with various instrumentalists and singers in varying musical ensembles combinations, exploring a wide range of the chamber music repertory available to musicians today. Some of the more interesting collaborations so far include a trio for Piano, Flute and Oboe, which focused primarily on 20th Century music, as well as a trio for Piano, Violin and French Horn.
As a solo pianist, Shu Han’s repertoire consists of music composed over a few hundred years, and he is as comfortable performing 20th Century music such as that of of Bela Bartok and Gyorgy Ligeti, as he is performing bringing out the lyrical nuances of Schubert and Chopin.
A particular interest in the area of piano transcriptions by Liszt and Busoni, have resulted in detailed research of Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade, as well as Ferruccio Busoni’s legendary piano transcription of JS Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor for Solo Violin. This has resulted in a research paper on the transcription techniques used by each composer in each transcription, comparing the original compositions with the transcribed versions, describing how the original compositions are enhanced and amplified by Liszt and Busoni, as well as an ethical discussion on the appropriateness of taking another’s composition and simply rewriting it for performance on another medium.
Another interest in Ravel’s orchestration technique compares Ravel’s orchestrations of his own piano music, as well as that of other composers, most notably Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and how a pianist can imbue their own interpretations of these works with different changes of tone with reference to the orchestrated versions.
In addition to his work as a pianist and researcher, Shu Han has also written programme notes for the Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, and the Vocal Associates Children’s Choir, for publication in their recent concerts.
Shu Han’s piano teachers include Paul Janes, Ong Lip Tat, Lim Tshui Fang, Benjamin Loh, and Rena Phua. He has also had the opportunity of having had lessons with well known pianists such as Seymour Lipkin, Victor Rosenbaum, Julius Drake, Martino Tirimo, Stephen Bojsten and Philippe Cassard. He regards Paul Janes and Gabriel Kwok as two of his greatest musical inspirations to date, and credits them largely for who he is today.
When he is not busy with music, Shu Han enjoys reading, writing, recurve archery, table tennis, and studying foreign languages.
