The latest donation which will be used for scholarships and special projects, will be matched a dollar-for-dollar from the Government.

The first gift of $25 million from the Trust was received at the Conservatory's official opening in 2003.

Mr Goh Yew Lin, chairman of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music's Governing Board, said the new gift will help take the five-year-old Conservatory to a new stage of development.

'The first $25 million gift we received from the Trust in 2003 supported our mission to establish a state-of-the-art Conservatory in Singapore. The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory now offers a four-year, full-time undergraduate degree programme, with a curriculum that provides a strong foundation for students to pursue their artistic development,' said Mr Goh.

'This second $25 million gift from the Trust will enable the Conservatory to continue to offer full scholarships to its students, joining a very small number of similarly-endowed institutions in the world. This will enable us to continue to attract students of the highest calibre.'

A statement from the Yong Loo Lin Trust said it chose to make a second gift to the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at NUS because 'we believe that it will help bring the Conservatory, in partnership with the Peabody Institute, one step closer towards its aim of becoming a centre of international standing in music education.'

The Conservatory traces its beginnings to 2001, when NUS and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University signed an agreement to establish Singapore's first music conservatory at NUS.

In 2003, the Conservatory was named the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in recognition of a $25 million from the Yong Loo Lin Trust - and also in honour of the late Ms Yong Siew Toh, a daughter of Dr Yong Loo Lin who dedicated her life to teaching music. In the same year, the Conservatory also began its inaugural class with 71 students. Today, over 170 students from 14 countries study at the Conservatory.

Since its foundation, the Conservatory has attracted students from as far away as the United States, Canada and New Zealand as well as from most East Asian countries.

It counts Singaporeans Abigail Sin and Loh Jun Hong among its top students.