Kai Rong Toby Tan, 17 (Singapore)
Artist
REPERTOIRE
Semifinals — Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne in B major, Op. 62, No. 1
Étude in a minor, Op. 10, No. 2
Étude in c-sharp minor, Op. 10, No. 4
Mazurkas, Op. 24
Sonata No. 3 in b minor, Op. 58
I. Allegro maestoso
II. Scherzo (Molto vivace)
III. Largo
IV. Finale (Presto non tanto)
Finals — Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 2 in f minor, Op. 21
I. Maestoso
II. Larghetto
III. Allegro vivace
“Seldom has someone this young left such an indelible imprint on a tried-and-tested warhorse; supremely confident yet highly nuanced was his memorable reading.” (The Straits Times, 2024)
Born in 2008, Toby was the Singapore President’s Young Performer of 2024, presenting Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at the Victoria Concert Hall. Since his concerto debut at age 10 with the South Korea Soliall Philharmonic, he has performed with the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Georg-Friedrich-Händel Gymnasium, Maestoso Chamber Orchestra, Ding Yi Music Company, Kids’ Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Quartet, and the T’ang Quartet. He has also appeared on world-renowned stages including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Suzhou Bay Grand Theatre, Suzhou Art Culture Centre for Bicultural Exchange, and the Tianjin Concert Hall.
In 2023, he won First Prize and the Carl Nielsen Prize at the Aarhus International Piano Competition (Denmark), as well as Second Prize at the Zhuhai Mozart International Piano Competition (China). In 2024, he received Second Prize from Dang Thai Son at the 6th Piano Island International Competition (Singapore) and Third Prize at the Vigo International Piano Competition (Spain), where Martha Argerich served on the semi-final and final jury. In 2025, he won First Prize and the Best Chopin Prize at the Vietnam International Piano Competition and Festival in Hanoi.
In 2025, he participated in the Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival and performed in the City Sounds concert series at the Tianjin Concert Hall. He received the Jury Discretionary Award in the concerto competition and was selected to perform Mozart’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478, with the Shanghai Quartet. In August, he presented two Chopin recitals in Warsaw as part of the Saturday Chopin Recitals in Żelazowa Wola cycle. He will also perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, with the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat major, K. 449, with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in the 2025/2026 season.
He is currently a student at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore.