Jasmine Ong

Viola

Year:: 2025/26
Born:: Michigan, USA
Sponsor:: Jasmine Ong's place at Sinfonia Smith Square is generously supported by Iain and Claire Robinson

Biography

When I was four, my cousin showed me his violin, and that was it – I was hooked. My parents found me wonderful teachers, first in Michigan, USA, where they worked, then in Singapore after we moved to be closer to family. My interest in music expanded to the larger sphere of performing arts when I was enrolled in dance classes, and when I began studies at the School of the Arts, Singapore. There, I grew up alongside other types of artists: actors, dancers, visual artists, and filmmakers, where I began to learn how music could intersect with other disciplines, to create works with an impact greater than the sum of their parts. Before long, the pursuit of interdisciplinary connection became my main inspiration, manifesting in projects over the years that stretched my imagination and allowed me to grow in ways beyond musicianship.

During my undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the school was involved in COP26, and I ran a student festival that platformed 11 events, connecting across the School of Music and the School of Drama, Dance, Production, and Film. It was a huge learning opportunity for me and solidified my interest in event production. In that pursuit of connection, I also found myself engaged in student government: first as a representative for the string department, then Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer, and finally the founder and Chairperson of the Asian Union. All these experiences instilled a desire to be an active participant in the arts industry as an event organiser, creating environments that uplift all participants and have a meaningful impact on the communities we engage.

While completing a master’s degree at Texas Christian University, I was also working more consistently as an orchestral musician. As I began interacting more with a real audience, I was also hearing from my friends and colleagues around the world who were creating and performing in non-traditional concert formats. I began to question what the concert experience looked like, and what an audience might be looking for. I was inspired to consider how the modern-day music event could be shaped to meet the audiences of today. Now, as I transition to full-time work, I’m so excited to be a fellow with Sinfonia Smith Square and Orpheus Sinfonia, programs that are at the forefront of innovative classical music experiences.

Outside of music, you might find me calling home to Singapore to keep up with my family, or watching trending shows to stay on top of popular culture – I’ll probably be working on a new crochet project at the same time. I also love cooking and exploring new recipes, so if you bump into me, give me your best recommendation!

Education

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow

Quickfire Questions

What is your favourite piece of music and why do you love it?

Where’s your favourite place to listen to music and why?

My preferred place to listen to music is in a theatre, with a visual storytelling element. For example: musical theatre, a film, and my absolute favourite, the ballet. I connect with music most when there is a storytelling element, and while I also enjoy coming up with stories myself, there’s something like the feeling of being on a rollercoaster—the lack of control of what’s about to happen—which is very freeing. It allows the part of my brain that is constantly moving and searching, desperate to do something, to engage in the somewhat meditative state of simply watching, taking everything in, and storing it for later.

How would you persuade someone who has never heard ‘classical music’ before to come with you to a concert?

I would try to make it a personal experience for the person! I would choose a concert with repertoire that is relevant to their interests, explaining the backstory or history of the piece to entice them. For example, if the person was a war history buff, I might suggest Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, which has a brilliant and accessible documentary on YouTube, detailing the journey of the symphony, and the composer’s first-hand experience of World War 2. This is how I’d try to entice someone who never had an interest in classical music.

Alternatively, if it was someone who feels out of place, like they don’t know what to expect, and that’s the barrier to entrance? I’d do my best to explain the ins and outs of a concert-going experience. I would reassure them that there really isn’t right or wrong behaviour. If they felt uncomfortable with the idea of going by themselves, but were comfortable enough around me, I’d invite them to a concert I was watching or playing in. With a debrief over drinks or snacks afterwards! Going to a concert is a whole experience, including the time before and after.

I think there are lots of ways to persuade someone to go to a concert, the key is probably in identifying and removing the barrier to entrance, and furthermore, actively finding hooks to encourage participation.

What do you do with your time when you’re not playing music?

I love engaging in creative activities outside of playing music. I’ll often put on a show to listen to and pick up one of my many crochet or sewing projects, or do some digital drawing. I’m also keen to develop as a producer and am always coming up with ideas for my own musical, toying with experimental concert formats, or scripting animation music videos for classical music pieces.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be?

I would either be a researcher, a politician, or a community organiser. Researcher, because I enjoy learning, coming up with theories, and trying to piece together bits of information to prove or disprove them! Politician/community organiser because I care about trying to make people’s lives better and doing so by actively participating in the systems which can create change.

What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?

When I was 15, I was playing Barber’s Violin Concerto in the semi-final round of the Singapore Violin Competition. That was the first time I performed with sincerity and didn’t feel pretentious or embarrassed about my vulnerability. It was a powerful moment for me as a teenager, to have that breakthrough in putting aside ego and believing in the emotion that the music was communicating. Often before a performance, when I’m working through my process to access my performance mindset, that memory will pop up and centre me, reminding me how it feels to enjoy performing as I believe it’s meant to be.

What’s the best bit of live music you’ve ever seen?

In April 2025, I watched a recital organised by the Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas. The performers were Jean-Guihen Queyras on cello and Fei-Fei on piano. (Fei-Fei is a single-name performer, like Beyoncé, and I do believe they are comparable). Fei-Fei flew in from New York because the original pianist had been unable to make it on short notice. The program was Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, and Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19. This was some of the hardest music in the piano repertoire, and Fei-Fei prepared in three days. Her astounding technical ability aside, what was so captivating for me was the pure joy and connection between the performers. Fei-Fei demonstrated a trust in her own technique to be able to cope with whatever would happen and prioritised the dialogue between cello and piano—the element of fun that allowed the performers to carry on an interesting conversation. It was a fantastic concert and is the bar which I now set for myself, a standard which I will constantly strive for.

Biography

Sign up to our mailing list