“If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote William Shakespeare. At eZoo, both children and adults can cultivate an appreciation for music and fine arts against a lush and tropical backdrop.

The school is located in an idyllic setting nestled in the charming hills of Swiss View, with a focus on the appreciation of the arts - music, pottery, fine art, and arts & crafts.

This is in contrast to the exam-oriented mentality of some schools - especially for music - which is learnt by progressing from one examination to another.

“Our priority and philosophy is that music and art should be loved and appreciated, and not solely for academic purposes. Once a child enjoys and loves a certain art form, they will naturally be motivated to learn it well,” says Elizabeth Teng, Artistic Director and Owner of eZoo.

Based on Elizabeth’s experience as a music teacher, she has seen many children who are drilled to play examination music pieces with the sole purpose of learning a musical instrument to pass examinations. As they progress through the grades, many may fall away, as practice becomes a drudgery and the examinations become progressively difficult.

“We send our students for examinations when they are ready, which may not be a yearly basis,” says Elizabeth. In fact, some parents of eZoo students may prefer not to send their child for examinations, for fear of the pressure killing the enjoyment of the music.

eZoo’s music sessions run the gamut from group sessions of 4-6 to individual sessions. The range of classes include music appreciation classes for children from 4 years older where they learn to simply enjoy music through percussion instruments, body movements to music, and through experiencing a variety of musical instruments.

Other music classes include classical and pop piano, classical guitar, and contemporary and electric guitar courses.

eZoo’s philosophy of music appreciation above going for music examinations can be seen in the way the classes are conducted. For example, a piano lesson may not comprise entirely of classical piano-playing. Instead, it may include pop or jazz music, playing with rhythm training, playing in an ensemble with other instruments, or even piano duets.

“Playing the same piece continuously till a student masters it is not the way to learn music. Sometimes we may vary the types of music pieces to sustain a student’s interest,” says Elizabeth. “In the same way, if someone eats the same food every day, it can get boring.”

To ensure that students not only enjoy the music but are skilled musicians, eZoo has its own method of grading students, to gauge their competence.

In addition, the school organizes a yearly concert to encourage the students. All students have the opportunity to perform, regardless of the level of competence. Some students may even perform “Twinkle, twinkle little stars”, says Elizabeth.

“It really is an opportunity for the students to perform and for parents to see how their kids are doing,” says Elizabeth.

Besides music classes, eZoo conducts pottery courses with two kilns, the classes cater to children and adults, as well as provide services for corporate gifts.

The pottery classes are divided into introductory courses where students will learn the basic pottery techniques by learning to make tea cups, rice bowls, plates, bottles, and pitchers. Then they will advance to free style lessons that allow more room for creativity in terms of what is made.

Besides pottery classes, the school is initiating ceramic workshops and talks, the first of which was by an established ceramic artist from the Kyoto province of Japan, Mr.Kondo Takahiro

The arts and craft classes comprise of eight basic modules: introduction to colour concepts, creative craft work, basic drawing techniques, paper craft, portraiture, different painting media, print-making, and making models & cartooning.

Each basic module lasts for 4-5 weeks each, after which the students decide on their preferred art, and also progress to higher levels of the chosen subjects and fine arts classes.

Given the location, eZoo naturally has a very international mix of students, with the majority of the students being from expatriate families. Some may attend the German or Swiss school nearby, or are Japanese who opt for the music lessons based on Japanese curriculum.

“There are cultural exchanges among our students, as we have a very international crowd. These are typically several nationalities in one class,” says Elizabeth.

Additionally, eZoo teachers themselves hail from a diverse number of countries like Japan, Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Philippines and of course Singapore.

Finally, for easy access to the school, there is a scheduled eZoo bus service that can provide transport for students to nearby districts.