Lasalle College of the Arts based in Singapore, a specialist tertiary institution leading contemporary arts education in fine art, design, media and performing arts in the Asia Pacific, is looking to woo young and talented locals to join the college.
Taking an interest in local talents, two of the officials from Lasalle College of Arts are currently in Brunei Darussalam to attend the JIS Music Showcase and observe some of the young performers.

Mr Tong Mc Gill, programme Leader of musical theatre and Brian O’Reilly lecturer of Music said, “We came here to watch the JIS concert tonight and to look at local talents because we noticed that JIS is putting a lot of energy into performing arts and in our college, students can continue their studies at tertiary levels.”

Mr Tong Mc Gill revealed, “Currently, there are no Bruneians enrolled in the Lasalle College of Arts. However, there should be.”

“The college has many different programmes in fine arts, design, music, theater, dance, film and many more. We have six different faculties with around 10 programmes in each of them. A long time ago, if someone from Asia wanted to study these arts, they had to go to Europe, US or Australia but that is not the case anymore because the college is in Singapore.”

To be a successful candidate, Brian O’Reilly said, “It is mostly based on holistic view. Although someone is weak in a certain music skill but if he/she has the right attitude or passion, we can build on that. So there is no checklist but rather, to see what they have to offer and how we can help them.”

Mr Tong Mc Gill also added, “Prior training is also important. To do well in arts, one needs to conduct regular training. It is fascinating to see that in Brunei, these sort of training activities are being conducted in the secondary levels.

“We were also told that Music would be taught in primary schools. Initiatives such as this will assist in making students more appreciative of music.”

When asked if they have met any performers from Brunei, the two officials replied that they’ve met Maria Koh, the national squad swimmer who is also an enthusiastic performer. She attended a one-week intensive course on musical programme in Lasalle College of the Arts in January.

“It was great to meet someone from Brunei and because of her visit, it has helped to open up the channel of communication as Maria mentioned she would like to study performing at a tertiary level. Thus, we feel there might be other Bruneian youths who want to study performing at a tertiary level as well,” Tony said.

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