Bernice Lee Wen Ting – Biography

Bernice graduated in 2016 from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore with a Bachelors of Music degree (B.Mus.) in oboe performance.  She was admitted through the Young Artist Programme, and was offered a full scholarship at the Conservatory.  At the Conservatory, she came under the tutelage of Rachel Walker (Principal Oboe, Singapore Symphony Orchestra) and Carolyn Hollier (Section Oboe, Singapore Symphony Orchestra). Her main instrumental teacher outside of the Conservatory is Simon Emes (Principal Oboe, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra).

Throughout her candidature at the Conservatory, Bernice has been actively participating in competitions.  In 2013, Bernice won second place in the wind category of the Yong Siew Toh Concerto Competition.  In 2014, she won third place in the oboe open division of the inaugural Singapore Woodwind Competition. In November 2015, Bernice was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Seventh International Oboe Competition of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2016, she won second prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition in London, and was invited to perform at the Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall in March 2016. Most recently, Bernice won a coveted slot to perform at the President’s Young Performers Concert with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). She will be performing the Strauss oboe concerto with the SSO in September 2016.

In January 2015, Bernice auditioned for the Co-Principal oboe position in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) and went to the final round of the audition.  She has been freelancing with the MPO since May 2015, and has been invited as guest principal oboe for performances in April 2016.  An avid orchestral musician, Bernice has also been the principal oboe of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra since 2014.  In July 2015, she was selected to be part of the Orchestre des Continents SG50 tour in Singapore and Switzerland, under the baton of Thierry Fischer.  A month later, she was selected to be principal oboe in the Conservatory Orchestra’s tour to Hong Kong and Macau, under the baton of Jason Lai.

In December 2015, Bernice auditioned for and was selected to play the oboe and cor anglais for Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Les Misérables in Singapore. At the conclusion of the Singapore production, she was invited on board Mackintosh’s subsequent production of Les Misérables in Dubai in November 2016.

Bernice has participated in numerous oboe festivals, during which she learnt from renowned oboists such as Hélène Devilleneuve, Gordon Hunt, Diana Doherty, Olivier Doise, John Anderson and Thomas Indermühle.

In September 2016, Bernice will pursue her Masters of Music degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was very recently offered a generous tuition scholarship. She has been given a place in the Orchestral Artistry program at the Guildhall, where she will receive coaching from the London Symphony Orchestra players and have opportunities to rehearse and perform with them.