Faculty

Johann Koh is a performer and pedagogue from Singapore. He is a graduate of Indiana

University Jacobs School of Music (Master of Music) under the tutelage of Dr. Otis Murphy, with

a minor in music theory, and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Bachelor of Music) with Dr.

Leslie Wong. His devotion to saxophone performance and pedagogy has led to him being

Yamaha Singapore’s first classical saxophone artist.

He was the President of the IU Saxophone Organisation and was awarded the IU Jacobs

Performance Fellowship during his master’s degree and has clinched numerous accolades as a

soloist and with the Blitz Saxophone Quartet at events such as the North American Saxophone

Association 2024 conference, Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, among many others.

As an educator, Johann has taught numerous students in Singapore as a Saxophone and Music

Theory instructor at the Singapore Police Force Band from 2020-2021 and Saxophone

Instructor at the Flute and Music Academy since 2017 on top of private students and school

bands. He has also taught undergraduate students in Indiana University as the performance

fellow and at the Indiana University Distance Learning Program which provides online music

lessons to students in less privileged areas of the world. He has also given quartet and solo

masterclasses at institutions such as Purdue University, Fort Wayne.

Johann served as the musical director for the Protégé Saxophone Ensemble from 2017-2023

and is an active participant of the annual Singapore Saxophone Symposium. He has worked

with ensembles such as The Philharmonic Orchestra Singapore, Nanyang Academy Orchestra,

the Royal College of Music Orchestra, Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra, the Protégé

Saxophone Ensemble, and is a founding member of the New Meta Quartet and Blitz Quartet.

Johann has performed with the New Meta Quartet in various venues in China such as the

Soochow University, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the Tianjin Conservatory of music.

He has also represented Singapore in multiple events such as the 1st Asian Saxophone

Congress in Chiayi, Taiwan, the 18th World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia, and the

Singapore Saxophone Symposium 2022 & 2023 as Singapore’s representative at the

symposium’s musical showcase.

A firm believer in the positive impact music can have on one’s life, Johann hopes to help others

learn to express themselves through the saxophone and gain a more intimate appreciation of

music.