Winner of the President’s Young Performer Concert 2021, Charmaine was lauded by The Straits Times for her “nimble fingers and consummate musicianship” during her solo debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Her extensive list of accolades makes her no stranger to global stages, with Charmaine clinching top prizes at international competitions such as the Camac Harp Taiwan Competition, Asia Harp Chamber Competition, Enkor International Chamber Competition and New England Conservatory Concerto Competition.
Charmaine has also been invited to perform at a plethora of international events, including the Asia Harp Festival in Seoul (Korea), World Harp Congress (Sydney), PGVIM 4th International Symposium (Thailand) and Acenis International Harp Festival (France). In addition, Charmaine starred as a soloist in a collaborative concert between the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy (Japan) in 2018.
Other than representing Singapore at international events, Charmaine also actively performs in orchestras. She currently appears as a freelancer, playing regularly with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Beyond local shores, she also plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra (China), while occasionally guest performing with the Jakarta Simfonia, as well as other orchestras worldwide.
An avid lover of chamber music, Charmaine explored the confluence of different music styles through organizing various concerts such as “ABC Chamber” and “Memories of Distant Shores”, which performed works by Bax, Sarasate, Piazolla and Shostakovich. Most recently, she performed Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro with the highly acclaimed T’ang Quartet. Charmaine is also a founding member of Viva Rave, Singapore’s first professional harp ensemble.
Charmaine does not stop only at performing, but continually strives to push the boundaries and diversity of the harp as a music arranger. She expanded her repertoire by arranging music for the world premiere of the first Harp Musical production – “Pluck” by RaveHarps, and had her arrangement of Malaysian songs featured in the World Harp Congress by the Penang Harpers. In her latest endeavour, Charmaine composed original works for Viva Rave, and also ventured into the world of film scoring.
Other than weddings, Charmaine also performed at numerous corporate events. Notable ones include the DFS Masters of Wines and Spirits (MOWS) event at T Galleria, Communique Live Asia event at Four Seasons Hotel, Ministry of Transport event at Raffles Hotel and the opening of Sealy Store at Tanglin Place.
Charmaine was awarded the Alexander W.Dole and Mara E. Dole Scholarship Fund to pursue a Master’s Degree in Harp performance at the New England Conservatory (Boston, USA) where she graduated with Academic Honours. Prior to that, she was named valedictorian upon completion of her Bachelor’s Degree in Harp Performance at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (NUS).