Singaporean composer Ngiam Teo shares how he left the medical path, learned music from the ground up, and found his calling through storytelling.
“I write music because I love stories. I grew up reading books and playing retro games, losing myself in the memorable worlds within. Over time, that fascination became a desire to build worlds of my own – and to help other people bring theirs to life.
For years, however, music never seemed like a future I was allowed to choose. Like many young people in Singapore, I absorbed the idea that the arts were a hobby, not a viable career.
Stability shaped my decisions, even while I spent much of my free time writing music. I earned a diploma in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technology, then served in National Service as a combat medic. I assumed I would remain on a medical path.
During that time, I approached a doctor I worked with for advice about pursuing medicine. His response caught me completely off guard. He encouraged me to do what I was genuinely good at and loved doing.
We only live once, he reminded me, so I should follow my passion and explore music as a career. Hearing that from someone who had achieved what I thought I wanted made me reconsider the path I had treated as inevitable.
I was hesitant. Most people around me did not see music as a practical option, and I had not been searching for permission to leave STEM. Yet the doctor’s advice was surprising and encouraging.
I did not have to focus on one path, and I could trust myself and my music. Once I completed National Service, I acted on that possibility. I took a part-time job at a music store and began theory lessons to prepare for university applications.
My teacher helped me identify programmes, introduced me to different parts of the music field, and gave me a starting point when I had none. Formal study was intimidating. I had always created by ear – experimenting on instruments, memorising melodies and recording ideas I liked.
Suddenly, I had to write those ideas as sheet music so other people could understand them. I could not sight-read, and many classmates arrived with years of musical or audio training. I sometimes felt out of place, and I still do. But I kept working.
When LASALLE College of the Arts accepted my portfolio on my first attempt, the relief was enormous. I had entered its BA (Hons) Music programme with no prior formal training, and music finally became a future I could build.
Today, every film, game and creative project reassures me that I chose the right path. I compose narrative-driven scores for indie developers and student productions, regardless of scale.
Recently, a friend of a friend approached me for music after hearing about my previous work. Knowing my music had travelled beyond me felt surreal. Among my most treasured experiences was working with Izumo Kawabe and the crew on Mother’s Recipe (2026).
I composed, arranged and also assisted on set. The joy was not only in the finished work, but in the creative ecosystem around it: having fun, making friends and building something meaningful together.
That same collaborative spirit led me to score the thesis films MIMICRY and Kali’s Children, which won Best Fiction Film and Best Non-Fiction Film respectively at THE LASALLE SHOW 2026: AVANT Premiere.
Each project felt like an invitation to help shape – and occasionally build – an entirely new world. Alongside those collaborations, I created the WORLDS Project, an ongoing self-published anthology that combines fantasy world-building with original music.
Every track carries a piece of lore or history. It culminated recently in Of Fleeting Worlds: For The Dawn, my graduation recital and the formal introduction of my stories to the world.
I hope listeners carry away the story behind the music, as well as an appreciation of the craft required to write it. Emotional connection matters, but the music does not have to mean exactly the same thing to everyone.
If someone enjoys it and discovers something personal within it, the music has fulfilled its purpose. I want to keep exploring the world, learning what it can teach me and discovering the worlds inside other people’s stories.
At a time when art can feel increasingly synthetic, I hope my multidisciplinary work affirms human ingenuity – and shows that no background, label or unconventional beginning limits our capacity to reinvent ourselves.” – Ngiam Teo
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