TUEETOR CHATS With Ms Gresilda Tan Of Silversnow Music School

‘Opening a music school’ might seem like a straightforward business idea, but do you know how many music schools there are in Singapore?

Over 260 music schools or centres in Singapore as of 2016. It isn’t easy to find your niche and stand out in this crowd; that’s why we’re so pleased to be speaking with Ms Gresilda Tan. Called Ms Tan by her students, she’s the principal of Silversnow Music School, a MOE-certified music enterprise that started in 2016. Silversnow Music School quickly won a slew of awards, from the 2016 Singapore Outstanding Enterprise Award to the 2017 Best Learning and Enrichment Schools Award (Best Boutique Music School) by Parents World. Ms Tan tells us her inspiration for Silversnow Music School’s classes, her favourite quotes, and more, in this edition of TUEETOR CHATS!

Hi Ms Tan! How did you get started in your current line of work?

I love music, and the dream of starting a business related to my passion was too attractive. I just had to embark on it. It helped that I did teach part-time previously while studying and had the chance to see how different schools are run.

Who is a source of inspiration for you on your professional journey?

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook is an inspiration because he started his business at a young age and managed to popularise social networking, becoming one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world today.

What’s the most helpful piece of advice you’ve received?

That every small success should be celebrated. Because it’s very easy to overlook the small milestones and feel demoralized over setbacks.

What excites you most about your industry?

I believe that the percentage of people in Singapore learning music would keep rising over time. Music education may be deemed more important, which is really exciting!

How is Silversnow Music School standing out in the Singapore marketplace?

The private music education industry has been booming in Singapore because of the strong emphasis in music learning from early childhood, especially in learning the piano.

As a result, Silversnow Music School is fortunate to have been able to help many students in their music journey. We are still a small player but we are happy that we have seen strong growth and many happy students.

What is Silversnow Music School best known for?

Silversnow Music School’s bespoke lessons are based on each child’s aptitude and needs, ensuring that the child progresses at the ideal pace.

The school charts the students’ learning journeys by providing weekly student progress feedback, and accommodates to the students’ busy schedules with the flexibility to make lesson changes with advance notice.

Under the tutelage of the school’s friendly and qualified music teachers, students have achieved stellar results for their music exams.

Which part of your work brings you the greatest fulfilment?

Being able to inspire and groom the younger generation to love and enjoy music.

Image credit: Silversnow Music School

We conduct yearly recitals for our students which I am immensely proud of as I can see the happy faces of parents when their kids are on stage performing, and the accomplished faces of the students when they finish performing.

What do you hope for each student who goes through your course?

I hope that each student will learn how to enjoy playing music after going through our classes.

I have heard horror stories on how some piano teachers are so strict and fierce that their students end up hating music altogether. This is definitely not what I want for our students!

Could you share a story about a student?

We had an adult student who loved music so much that he was able to play advanced/diploma level pieces on the piano just after 1 year of learning with us.

The average time taken to reach his level would easily be 5-6 years. His story is quite inspiring because he reminded me of myself who started learning the piano quite late as well. A lot of people may feel that they are too old to learn music once they reach a certain age, but it is really never too late to learn.

What is one book that has changed your perspective of work, business, or life?

I find Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki very insightful as it teaches the concept of getting out of the Rat Race. This concept encourages people to become masters instead of slaves of their precious time by having sources of passive income and more assets. Running a business in a way fulfils that.

Is there a quote that you live by?

“You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety”.

Abraham Maslow

Tell us something new that your business is currently working on.

We are working on reaching out to more students by offering home tutoring services which we do not offer yet.

If you could, what is one piece of advice that you’d give to your younger self?

There are no mistakes, only lessons.

Shameless plug for your business:

We provide a cosy environment and patient and qualified teachers who are able to quickly build rapport with new students. Generally, anyone who takes up a trial lesson with us will want to join us (and we never hard sell!).