CONDUCTORS
Vacant
MOB Assistant Principal Conductor
(New) This appointment, takes the role of the Principal Conductor in his/her absence (usually an adult with a certain level of music qualifications) forward in training and priority given to conduct the MOB in performances. He/She will also get a free hand to conceptualise and fully direct an MOB show.
STEPHY NEO
B.Sc (Info. Sys), SDip (Arts Ed.)
MOB Conductor
STEPHY, a graduate from Temasek Junior College (TJC) Music Elective Program & the Integrated Program, and has also graduated from the Singapore Management University with a degree in Information Systems Management and Sociology. She has also completed her Specialist Diploma in Arts Education with the National Institute of Educational (International) in collaboration with the National Arts Council recently.
As head librarian of the Ministry of Bellz (MOB), she performed with the MOB @ Kuala Lumpur (2009) & Melaka (2010). In June 2010, she achieved the Level 5 with Merit in Handbell Performance, certified by the London College of Music. She was also the Assistant Stage Manager at the Asia Handbell Festival in Melaka (Malaysia). She is an instructor under the Ministry of Education (Singapore) Arts and Music Instructor Scheme.
In 2012, Stephy was appointed to be Secretary of the Handbell Ringers of Singapore. As part of the Singapore contingency, she has attended the International Handbell Symposium in Jeju (2014) and Vancouver (2016). In 2013, she was also appointed to be the Young Associate Conductor of the MOB and has graduated to be the Conductor of the Ministry of Bellz this year. She is proud to have conducted her first mass ringing ensemble at the event, Afternoon with the Bellz V. The mass ringing ensemble is also recognized to be the Singapore Book of Records Largest Handbell Ensemble up till 2016.
In 2018, Stephy was appointed to be the first Massed Ringing Conductor to represent the Handbell Ringers of Singapore. She conducted ‘Bunga Sayang’, arranged by her teacher - Damien Lim, to almost 200 ringers from America, Japan, Great Britain, Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Australasia and Singapore at the 18th International Handbell Symposium in Cairns.
Under the guidance of Mr Tan Kian Wee, she has achieved her grade 8 certificate in organ by the Trinity College of Music. She has also performed in numerous demonstrations on the Yamaha electone EL-900 & Stagea at various locations in Singapore. In the musical theatre, she performed in Siapa Baba – A Peranakan Wayang, as a bass keyboardist.
B.Sc (Info. Sys), SDip (Arts Ed.)
MOB Conductor
STEPHY, a graduate from Temasek Junior College (TJC) Music Elective Program & the Integrated Program, and has also graduated from the Singapore Management University with a degree in Information Systems Management and Sociology. She has also completed her Specialist Diploma in Arts Education with the National Institute of Educational (International) in collaboration with the National Arts Council recently.
As head librarian of the Ministry of Bellz (MOB), she performed with the MOB @ Kuala Lumpur (2009) & Melaka (2010). In June 2010, she achieved the Level 5 with Merit in Handbell Performance, certified by the London College of Music. She was also the Assistant Stage Manager at the Asia Handbell Festival in Melaka (Malaysia). She is an instructor under the Ministry of Education (Singapore) Arts and Music Instructor Scheme.
In 2012, Stephy was appointed to be Secretary of the Handbell Ringers of Singapore. As part of the Singapore contingency, she has attended the International Handbell Symposium in Jeju (2014) and Vancouver (2016). In 2013, she was also appointed to be the Young Associate Conductor of the MOB and has graduated to be the Conductor of the Ministry of Bellz this year. She is proud to have conducted her first mass ringing ensemble at the event, Afternoon with the Bellz V. The mass ringing ensemble is also recognized to be the Singapore Book of Records Largest Handbell Ensemble up till 2016.
In 2018, Stephy was appointed to be the first Massed Ringing Conductor to represent the Handbell Ringers of Singapore. She conducted ‘Bunga Sayang’, arranged by her teacher - Damien Lim, to almost 200 ringers from America, Japan, Great Britain, Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Australasia and Singapore at the 18th International Handbell Symposium in Cairns.
Under the guidance of Mr Tan Kian Wee, she has achieved her grade 8 certificate in organ by the Trinity College of Music. She has also performed in numerous demonstrations on the Yamaha electone EL-900 & Stagea at various locations in Singapore. In the musical theatre, she performed in Siapa Baba – A Peranakan Wayang, as a bass keyboardist.
VALERIE LEE
DipLCM (Conducting), Dip (Psych), Dip (Early Childhood Studies)
MOB Associate Conductor
Valerie was introduced to handbells at a very young age in church, and began her journey in handbells at Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) in 2007. She performed with the PLMGS (Primary) ringers at the 13th International Handbell Symposium held in Orlando, Florida (USA) in 2008, and achieved a Gold Award at the 2010 Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) under Mr Damien Lim.
She also performed with the PLMGS (Secondary) ringers under Ms Goh Lee Lee, where the team attained the Certificate of Distinction at the SYF 2013 Arts Presentation. It was in the same year that Valerie decided to further cultivate her love for ringing by joining the Ministry of Bellz (MOB), where she was given opportunities to learn the art of conducting in 2017 and 2021.
Valerie’s dedication to handbells comes from her lifelong love for music and the performing arts. Beyond handbells, she has been involved in a number of different performing arts groups: serving in her church’s choir since the age of 6, learning ballet in primary school, and being an active member of both the Band and the Chorale CCAs in Temasek Polytechnic, where she was given the opportunity to serve in the Main Committee of Chorale as Quartermistress and Assistant Training Head in the 2018-2019 Academic Year.
Valerie is a recipient of the MOB-Agatha Goh Memorial Scholarship to pursue her Diploma in Conducting in 2022/2023.
She was appointed MOB’s 1st Young Associate Conductor in 2021 & elevated to MOB Associate Conductor in June 2022.
(New) This 2-5 years tenure, takes the associate conductor (usually an adult with a certain level of music qualifications) forward in training and priority given to conduct the MOB in performances.
EMILY LI
B.Mus, M.Mus
Principal Guest Conductor
Emily Li obtained her Bachelor and Master Degree in music from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and Chinese University of Hong Kong, major in composition. She was a lecturer and the handbell director in the Music Department of HKBU from 1997-2004. At present, she is the Artistic Director of Hong Kong Handbell Academy, Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble (HKYHE), Bell Allure and The Clappers; Founder and Music Director of Gloves Handbell and Chairperson of Handbell Association of Hong Kong (HAHK).
Emily started ringing handbells in 1986 and has since developed an obsession with this instrument. She learnt handbell solo from renowned soloists Christine Anderson, Nancy Jessup and Nancy Hascall, and has completed the Graduate Program in Handbells at Concordia University, Wisconsin. She had studied with handbell masters Kay Cook, William Payn, David Davidson and Arnold Sherman in handbell performance, conducting and composition. She is listed in the Who’s Who in Handbells for her outstanding achievement in handbells performance and education.
Having the mission to promote handbell ringing in Hong Kong, Emily resigned from her lecturer’s post at HKBU in 2004 and founded the Hong Kong Handbell Academy, which aims to provide handbell resources and professional training for the general public. She founded HKYHE in 2005 and started training handbell conductors and performers of the young generation. In 2006, she founded Handbell Association of Hong Kong and organized the annual Hong Kong Handbell Festival. Under her leadership, the Association has joined the International Handbell Committee in 2010 and made Hong Kong the host city of the International Handbell Symposium in 2020.
Emily actively participates in overseas handbell festivals to work and perform with great handbell masters. She has led her choirs to ring in various public performances and recordings for TVs, radios and international conferences, where their performances were highly appreciated. These include the biennial International Handbell Symposium, Asian Youth Arts Festival in Kagoshima, and concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, New York and Phoenix City. She also served as the clinician at the National Seminar in Cincinnati, USA and the massed ring conductor at the 15th International Handbell Symposium in Liverpool in 2012.
As a handbell soloist, Emily has performed handbell solo in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the United States. In 2012, Emily collaborated with the composition department of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and premiered 7 original handbell solo pieces, making a step forward to promote handbell ringing in the music community.
Emily also composes and arranges handbell music. Her original compositions Cantabile (2006) and Nocturnal Fantasy (2012) , commissioned by Huston Bronze Ensemble, were both published and recorded in CDs in the United States.
(Biography from Hong Kong Handbell Academy / Jan 2019)
* The Principal Guest Conductor's role, is a 10 year tenure, which takes the conductor to come to Singapore once every 3-5 years to work with the team on a regular basis.
EMILY LI
B.Mus, M.Mus
Principal Guest Conductor
Emily Li obtained her Bachelor and Master Degree in music from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and Chinese University of Hong Kong, major in composition. She was a lecturer and the handbell director in the Music Department of HKBU from 1997-2004. At present, she is the Artistic Director of Hong Kong Handbell Academy, Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble (HKYHE), Bell Allure and The Clappers; Founder and Music Director of Gloves Handbell and Chairperson of Handbell Association of Hong Kong (HAHK).
Emily started ringing handbells in 1986 and has since developed an obsession with this instrument. She learnt handbell solo from renowned soloists Christine Anderson, Nancy Jessup and Nancy Hascall, and has completed the Graduate Program in Handbells at Concordia University, Wisconsin. She had studied with handbell masters Kay Cook, William Payn, David Davidson and Arnold Sherman in handbell performance, conducting and composition. She is listed in the Who’s Who in Handbells for her outstanding achievement in handbells performance and education.
Having the mission to promote handbell ringing in Hong Kong, Emily resigned from her lecturer’s post at HKBU in 2004 and founded the Hong Kong Handbell Academy, which aims to provide handbell resources and professional training for the general public. She founded HKYHE in 2005 and started training handbell conductors and performers of the young generation. In 2006, she founded Handbell Association of Hong Kong and organized the annual Hong Kong Handbell Festival. Under her leadership, the Association has joined the International Handbell Committee in 2010 and made Hong Kong the host city of the International Handbell Symposium in 2020.
Emily actively participates in overseas handbell festivals to work and perform with great handbell masters. She has led her choirs to ring in various public performances and recordings for TVs, radios and international conferences, where their performances were highly appreciated. These include the biennial International Handbell Symposium, Asian Youth Arts Festival in Kagoshima, and concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, New York and Phoenix City. She also served as the clinician at the National Seminar in Cincinnati, USA and the massed ring conductor at the 15th International Handbell Symposium in Liverpool in 2012.
As a handbell soloist, Emily has performed handbell solo in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the United States. In 2012, Emily collaborated with the composition department of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and premiered 7 original handbell solo pieces, making a step forward to promote handbell ringing in the music community.
Emily also composes and arranges handbell music. Her original compositions Cantabile (2006) and Nocturnal Fantasy (2012) , commissioned by Huston Bronze Ensemble, were both published and recorded in CDs in the United States.
(Biography from Hong Kong Handbell Academy / Jan 2019)
* The Principal Guest Conductor's role, is a 10 year tenure, which takes the conductor to come to Singapore once every 3-5 years to work with the team on a regular basis.
Michael J. Glasgow
BA, MCM (Master of Church Music)
Principal Guest Conductor
Michael J. Glasgow is a native of Detroit, and his family still lives in Michigan. An honors graduate from the College of Charleston (SC), Michael holds B.A. degrees in music theory/composition, and in journalism. He holds a summa cum laude Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University Wisconsin as a rare double-emphasis student, in both choral and handbell music.
Michael has composed four musical plays (two of which premiered in Charleston's Sottile Theatre), as well as numerous original sacred choral, orchestral, and handbell compositions. His setting of the Latin Requiem text premiered on April 8, 2001, with full orchestra and choir, at North Raleigh United Methodist Church, where Michael served as Minister of Music from 1998 to 2021. Its ten-year anniversary presentations on April 10, 2011 received tremendous acclaim. On June 11, 2017 – his 40th birthday – Michael made his Carnegie Hall debut, conducting the work in New York City’s iconic venue; and conducted its European premiere in Vienna on June 17, 2019. Three years later, he returned to Carnegie Hall to conduct the world premiere of his Gloria for orchestra and choir.
An active member of the American Composers Forum (ACF), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Handbell Musicians of America, and Mensa, Michael participates in many extracurricular and educational pursuits. He also serves as the Bass Section Leader for the North Carolina Master Chorale.
A composer heralded for his “abundant melodic gift” (New York Concert Review), Michael strives to creatively advance the choral, handbell and orchestral literature. His music has won numerous accolades and recognitions in composition contests and he has fulfilled more than 50 commissions, including Concerto for Castings, a multi-movement symphonic work featuring a virtuosic part for a solo percussionist on a handbell-keyboard instrument.
On the podium, Michael is a dynamic, energizing musician who connects well with people and music, and as such is sought after for conducting engagements throughout the country and abroad. Summer 2013 marked his international conducting debut, as a conductor for the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain Ringing Residency Week in Sheffield, England; a return appearance was almost immediately booked for 2015, and then, 2017. He has also conducted in the Eastern Caribbean, eastern and western Canada, Hong Kong, Austria, Singapore, and Iceland.
In his admittedly limited spare time, Michael enjoys weightlifting, yoga and gourmet cooking. Additional information and samples of Michael’s work may be found at www.michaeljglasgow.com and on YouTube and Twitter: @MichaelJGlasgow.
(Biography from www.michaeljglasgow.com / 2023)
* The Principal Guest Conductor's role, is a 10 year tenure, which takes the conductor to come to Singapore once every 3-5 years to work with the team on a regular basis.
