Goh Toh Chai Zechariah

Zechariah Goh graduated with a Diploma in Music from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1989. He began his music piano lesson under Ong Lip Tat, harmony from Phoon Yew Tien and counterpoint from Leong Yoon Pin while working on his Diploma of Music from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. In 1999, he received the David and Gunda Hiebert Scholarship award to work on his Master of Piano from University of Kansas, during which he was appointed as a graduate assistant by the university to teach undergraduate music theory. Subsequently, he worked on his Doctorate degree majoring in Composition under the guidance of Dr. Charles Hoag. At the same time, he studied Orchestration and Arrangement for Band under James Barnes. He was also awarded the prestigious Anthony Cius Prize for outstanding student composer from the University of Kansas for the academic year of 2001 and 2002.

Dr Goh is a recipient of the National Arts Council Young Artist Award in 2003. He is an active composer whose musical compositions have been performed widely around the world. He is also a conductor of several choirs, ensembles and orchestra. Over the years, he has been invited as a jury member in international music competitions. He is also a regular speaker in national and international conferences. He has been presented with the ‘COMPASS Artistic Excellence’ Award in 2013 presented by Composers And Authors Society of Singapore Ltd for his outstanding and commendable achievements in his field of music expertise. He is currently Head of Composition Studies as well as Senior Lecturer at the Department of Music in NAFA, teaching composition, orchestration, choir and sight-singing.