A memoir written by Ms Vivien Goh
Published with permission from Tan Kim Swee
Tan Kim Swee began his career as a primary school teacher and was later recommended to join the Ministry of Education’s Music Department due to his training as a pianist in his early years.
During his time in the Music Department, he taught music in five primary schools and served as a pianist for a school district choir.
In 1967, when the Ministry was tasked with establishing band programmes in schools, he was among the pioneer batch of bandmasters.
At that time, only a few schools had established bands, including Anglo Chinese School, Chinese High School, Montfort Secondary School, St. Gabriel’s Secondary School, and Yong Ching School.
Interested teachers were recruited and trained as bandmasters by instructors from the Royal Air Force.
A teachers’ band was formed, in which he played the trumpet.
Among the pioneer band teachers were Lee Seck Chiang, John De Souza, and Arnold Tan.
While John De Souza and Arnold Tan were sent to the Australian Military Band School for further training,
Tan Kim Swee went on a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma to pursue a Master’s degree in Music Education.
In the United States, he took trumpet lessons, conducted bands, and wrote his thesis, completing his degree within ten months.
After returning to Singapore in 1972, Tan was appointed to lead the Primary School Band Programme.
In this role, he trained band teachers and organised band camps, tours, competitions, and Youth Festival events.
The first bands in the primary schools were bugle and fife bands, which were later converted into brass bands, then military bands.
Tan conducted numerous training courses to prepare teachers as band instructors.
He also organised overseas tours to Brunei, Melaka, and Penang (featuring bands from Fowlie Primary School, Birkhall Road School, and Huayi Primary School), as well as Hong Kong (Fowlie Primary School).
Fowlie Primary School, Birkhall Road School, and Huayi Primary School were some of the outstanding bands at that time.
By the end of his tenure, there were over 300 school bands nationwide.
At the same time, Tan was involved in organising Secondary School Band Competitions and Youth Festival events as part of the Music Department’s work.
He considers the 1970s to be the golden era of school bands in Singapore.
When the Singapore Youth Orchestra was established in 1980, he succeeded David Lim as General Manager of the orchestra the following year.
In this organisation, Tan was responsible for setting up the administrative framework for the orchestra.
In 1990, Tan returned to schools as Vice-Principal of Pei Hwa Primary School, then Boon Lay Gardens Primary School.
After his retirement from this last school, he continued to serve in education as an adjunct teacher.
In retrospect, Tan Kim Swee’s life has been shaped by music, education, and service.
From his earliest piano lessons to building school band programmes and supporting young performers, he has always believed in the power of music to enrich lives and bring people together.