Singapore Raffles Music College (SRMC), a Singapore owned institution of higher learning for music and dance education, launched here Tuesday a new campus.

The new campus at 456 Alexandra Road will provide students with specialized music and dance degree programs.

"We are very excited that our new campus will house state-of-the-art facilities, such as the dance studios and the recording studio, and are very thankful that all our stakeholders also share the same vision of advancing our student's capabilities," said Ryan Goh, SRMC's Executive Director.

The joint project, with a total investment of 2.5 million Singapore dollars (about 1.87 million U.S. dollars) in infrastructure from Chinese pop singer turned angel investor, Hu Haiquan, as well as the China First Capital Group (CFCG), an investment holding company.

Hu said, "Traditionally in Singapore, music and dance has been viewed more as a hobby and less so as a viable career option. With Singapore actively promoting the performing arts, and the recent success of talent imports into other music markets, it is about time we recognize that in today's economic climate, the arts can serve as a viable career path."

Laurence Wong, CEO and Country Manager, CFCG Investment Partners International (Singapore) said, "Singapore is set to be a major contributor to the performing arts scene in the Asia Pacific and we see schools such as Singapore Raffles Music College as key to building a greater more cohesive performing arts scene in the region. Through investment in infrastructure and capabilities as well as partnerships with other institutes of the performing arts we expect this vision to come to fruition."

Since its establishment in 2001, the SRMC has produced many successful alumni, such as Kane Teo Yude, who has gone on to win the first prize at London College of Music's John Ireland Competition.