Other promising musicians who wish to play a fine instrument can also do so in the future, as the council is setting up a $1-million seed fund to acquire new stringed instruments to loan out.

Called the Singapore Musical Instrument Bank, it matches dollar for dollar donations made by corporations and individuals. Private instrument collectors are invited to donate their instruments to the bank.

Tang takes over the instrument from US-based Singaporean violinist Siow Lee Chin, who was the first beneficiary of the scheme and who played it for eight years.

The US$430,000 (S$648,000) violin was acquired in 2000 with contributions from the Far East Organization, the Lee Foundation and the NAC.

NAC's Guadagnini violin was crafted by J.B. Guadagnini in Milan in 1750.

It will be loaned to Tang for two years until May 2011. The loan period may be renewed, depending on the new round of applications in two years' time.

NAC chief executive Lee Suan Hiang said at a press conference yesterday that the violin loan scheme helps young musicians here achieve their full potential.

He said: 'We want them to excel internationally, and to do that, they need more than talent. They need a good instrument to help them produce the best sounds and great tonal colours.'

On Tang's accomplishments, he said: 'She is an accomplished young violinist. She is on the verge of a promising professional career and has won accolades in different parts of the world.'

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times' LIFE!