Biography
Benjamin Yeo is a Singaporean born on November 30, 1985. His music education started at the age of 7 and he played the trumpet in his Secondary School and Junior College. Being very active in the local band scene, he has guest-performed for many tertiary groups as well as guest-conducted many ensembles in Singapore. His experience in band directing has enabled him to work with students across a wide spectrum of educational institutions – from Primary to Tertiary levels. As a band enthusiast, he started writing and arranging music for wind bands and ensembles at the age of 15, and his works have also been performed publicly in local and overseas concerts. Benjamin has also been invited to serve as an adjudicator for events such as the Junior Band Festival in Singapore.
Many of his music has been published in the United States of America by C.L. Barnhouse Company, a famous and long-lasting publishing house of band music in the world. He is also the second Asian in the Barnhouse family of composers whose music has been accepted for publication. In 2007, his debut work, “Beyond the Highlands” was selected to be on the “New Band Music Reading List” at the prestigious Midwest Clinic, an International Band and Orchestra Conference held in Chicago, Illinois. The following year, his second work, “Legend of the Ancient Hero” was ranked the Top 100 out of the 800 over titles in the American Band College/Band World Magazine/Western International Band Clinic Literature List 2008-2009. This year, his newest lyrical selection, “As the Moon Whispers” also joined the rank of Top 100 in the same Literature List for 2010-2011. Apart from the USA, his music has also ventured into Europe recently with publications by Beriato Music in Belgium, a major publishing house in the region. His works have also been recorded by world renowned ensembles such as the Washington Winds in the USA; The Royal Netherlands Army Band ‘Johan Willem Friso’, Rundfunk Blasorchester Leipzig as well as the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides in Europe.
His compositions have taken places on both the International and National Festival/Contest list such as the Bi-annual Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging for Brass/Concert Bands held locally. As an active and a well sought-after published composer, he writes for both commissioned and non-commissioned works. He is also a member of the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS).
Benjamin joined the Singapore Armed Forces Bands during his National Service where he continued his musical training. Thereafter, he studied Composition under both Dr. Kelly Tang and Dr. Zechariah Goh, and Harmony/Counterpoint Studies under Dr. Eddy Chong. Currently, he holds the Bachelor of Arts (Ed.) (Hons.) degree, majoring in Music from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a recipient of ‘The Association of Nanyang University Graduates Book Prize’ for being the best student teacher in Music. He now teaches the Music Elective Programme (MEP) at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) in Singapore.
[*Photograph courtesy of Tan Zexun 2011, The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore]
