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The Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra under David Chin's direction has been praised for being: "Delicate, immaculately intoned, clearly articulated, smoothly phrased and as intelligent as it is boldly dynamic... rounded, yet transparently differentiated, magnificently bright and very eloquent sound... a first class concert." - Leipziger Volkszeitung |
Photo by Leong Xin Yuan (July 2024)
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David Chin is the founder and Artistic Director of Bachfest Malaysia and the conductor of the acclaimed Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra. In 2022, he was named a Senior Fellow of the prestigious Bach-Archiv Leipzig, becoming only the fourth person to receive this honor since the institution’s founding in 1950. He currently serves as a Long-term Visiting Professor of Music at Augustana University in the United States, where he directs the inaugural Augustana Bach Collegium and Bach Cantata Lecture Concert Series, conducts various ensembles, and teaches conducting and music history.
David’s upcoming projects include conducting Emmanuel Music in a performance of Bach's Easter Cantata, leading the Augustana Bach Collegium in Bach’s St. John Passion, and directing the Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. He recently conducted a concert tour of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis across major cities in East Malaysia, and led a performance of Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity in New York City. He also led the Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra on a concert tour in Germany, performing at iconic Bach landmarks, including the St. Thomas Church during the prestigious Bachfest Leipzig. Their performances garnered widespread critical acclaim, earning rave reviews from the Leipziger Volkszeitung, which prominently featured David in its headline.
David Chin has conducted choirs and orchestras worldwide, leading performances of major works by composers spanning from the Renaissance to the 21st century. His repertoire includes everything from world premieres and a cappella pieces to choral-orchestral masterworks, as well as vocal jazz and Broadway musicals. His musical engagements have taken him across the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and Italy, where he has both performed and taught.
A versatile keyboardist, David has earned accolades for his performances as a concerto soloist on both harpsichord and piano. In 2022, he collaborated with renowned conductor Ton Koopman as harpsichordist at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. He has also played the organ in concerts featuring the Arnstadt Bach Choir, Capella Arnestati, and the Ukrainian Youth Symphony Orchestra.
A versatile keyboardist, David has earned accolades for his performances as a concerto soloist on both harpsichord and piano. In 2022, he collaborated with renowned conductor Ton Koopman as harpsichordist at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. He has also played the organ in concerts featuring the Arnstadt Bach Choir, Capella Arnestati, and the Ukrainian Youth Symphony Orchestra.
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In addition to maintaining an active performing career, David Chin is deeply involved in education, musicology, and publishing. Has has delivered lectures and masterclasses at institutions such as UCSI University in Malaysia, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, and Silpakorn University in Thailand. As a translator, David rendered renowned Bach scholar Michael Maul’s Bach: A Pictorial Biography from German into Chinese. That same year, he presented his paper Bach in the Far East at the American Bach Society in Philadelphia, which will be published in the forthcoming issue of Bach Perspectives. Additionally, David was commissioned by Bach-Archiv Leipzig to create the Chinese version of the world’s largest Bach database website (jsbach.de). In 2020, he produced Encountering Bach, a documentary on the life and music of J.S. Bach, filmed entirely in Germany. Available in both English and Mandarin, the documentary has garnered significant international viewership. David’s latest project, a children’s book titled A Day in the Life of J.S. Bach, will be published by Bachfest Malaysia in December 2024.
His academic contributions include recent service on the music faculty at Sunway University in Malaysia, and he has held positions such as Visiting Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (2018–2019), Visiting Artist and Professor in Choral Music at Bucknell University in Spring 2018, and Director of Choral Activities at Roberts Wesleyan College from 2012 to 2017. His conducting students have gone on to pursue graduate studies at prestigious institutions such as Westminster Choir College, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, Georgia State University, University of Tennessee, and University of Connecticut. Throughout his career, David has led concert tours, directed high school choral festivals, conducted choirs and orchestras at all levels, and taught a variety of courses, including conducting, voice, music history, music theory, ear-training, and music appreciation.
David is also an advisor to the music committee of Malaysia’s National Chinese Independent High Schools, where he writes the national music textbook and trains music teachers across the country.
His academic contributions include recent service on the music faculty at Sunway University in Malaysia, and he has held positions such as Visiting Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (2018–2019), Visiting Artist and Professor in Choral Music at Bucknell University in Spring 2018, and Director of Choral Activities at Roberts Wesleyan College from 2012 to 2017. His conducting students have gone on to pursue graduate studies at prestigious institutions such as Westminster Choir College, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, Georgia State University, University of Tennessee, and University of Connecticut. Throughout his career, David has led concert tours, directed high school choral festivals, conducted choirs and orchestras at all levels, and taught a variety of courses, including conducting, voice, music history, music theory, ear-training, and music appreciation.
David is also an advisor to the music committee of Malaysia’s National Chinese Independent High Schools, where he writes the national music textbook and trains music teachers across the country.
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David Chin served as the Artistic Director of the Hong Kong Bach Festival from 2013 to 2017, and the Artistic Director of the East Malaysia Bach Cantata Singers and Orchestra from 2014 to 2018. He was also the Principal Conductor of the Association of Toronto Chinese Evangelical Church Musicians in Canada from 2015 to 2019, and the Music Director of the Chinese Choral Society of Rochester from 2011 to 2014.
David conducted the inaugural East Malaysia Bach Cantata Lecture Concert Tour from 2015 to 2018, becoming the first conductor to introduce Bach's music to major cities throughout East Malaysia (Borneo). In 2013, he launched an annual Bach Cantata concert series, which has since expanded to four performances each year, featuring ten different conductors at the Eastman School of Music. He has also been invited to conduct the Bach Cantata Lecture Concert Series organized by A&O Company in Hong Kong and the Yin Qi Choir in Malaysia. In addition, David has led the Twin Ports Choral Project in Minnesota, collaborative concerts with Madrigalia and Musica Spei in New York, and performances with the Kuala Lumpur City Opera Company in Malaysia. He has also prepared choruses for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in several concerts.
Since 2012, David has been a regular conductor and lecturer at the International Christian Choral Conductor Society. He has been invited to teach and perform at the World Sacred Music Conferences in New Zealand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
David conducted the inaugural East Malaysia Bach Cantata Lecture Concert Tour from 2015 to 2018, becoming the first conductor to introduce Bach's music to major cities throughout East Malaysia (Borneo). In 2013, he launched an annual Bach Cantata concert series, which has since expanded to four performances each year, featuring ten different conductors at the Eastman School of Music. He has also been invited to conduct the Bach Cantata Lecture Concert Series organized by A&O Company in Hong Kong and the Yin Qi Choir in Malaysia. In addition, David has led the Twin Ports Choral Project in Minnesota, collaborative concerts with Madrigalia and Musica Spei in New York, and performances with the Kuala Lumpur City Opera Company in Malaysia. He has also prepared choruses for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in several concerts.
Since 2012, David has been a regular conductor and lecturer at the International Christian Choral Conductor Society. He has been invited to teach and perform at the World Sacred Music Conferences in New Zealand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
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David's enthusiasm for Bach's music has led him to conduct multiple performances of the Mass in B minor, Magnificat, St. Matthew Passion, and St. John Passion, often leading from the harpsichord, as well as over 40 sacred cantatas, and numerous Orchestral Suites, Brandenburg Concertos, and motets. He has also conducted performances of Allegri’s Miserere, Handel's Messiah, Utretch Te Deum & Jubilate, Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, and several Coronation and Chandos Anthems; Vivaldi's Gloria, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Haydn's Symphony No. 94 'Surprise', The Creation, Te Deum in C, Theresienmesse, Nelsonmesse, Nicolaimesse, and Kleine Orgelmesse; Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore and Missa brevis; Schubert's Mass No. 2 in G, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 ‘Lobgesang’ and Hear My Prayer; Brahms' Vier Gesänge, and part songs; Saint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël, Stravinsky's Mass, Rutter's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem, Poulenc's Mass in G, Finzi's In terra pax, MacMillan's Miserere, and music by Schütz, Tallis, Palestrina, Gabrieli, Albinoni, Hassler, Telemann, Duruflé, Sibelius, Bruckner, Vaughan Williams, Barber, Chilcott, Distler, Thompson, Holst, Finzi, Kodály, Lauridsen, Stopford, Forrest, Runestadt, and other composers, as well as world premieres of several commissioned works. David has also conducted multiple performances of the world’s longest running musical: Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Les Misérables, and directed several vocal jazz concerts featuring works by monumental jazz icons such as Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and others. David was invited to play the harpsichord in recent performances of Bach's Mass in B minor and St. John Passion by the Voices Chamber Choir and Orchestra in New York and the East Malaysia Sacred Music Festival. He has also performed numerous major piano solo works by Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy, and appeared frequently in vocal and instrumental recitals as a collaborative pianist.
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Over the years, David Chin has directed numerous choirs and orchestras, collaborating with outstanding musicians from around the world. His live performances of J.S. Bach’s cantatas and Passions have been broadcast by more than 50 radio stations across the United States, and his original sacred piano arrangements have aired on international television. He has also been featured in various media outlets, including radio stations, magazines, and newspapers across Asia, North America, and Europe. A passionate church musician, David has served Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, and Anglican congregations globally. From 2011 to 2014, he was a member of the renowned Schola Cantorum at Christ Church in Rochester, New York, performing Gregorian chant, choral improvisations, motets, and anthems from the Renaissance, Baroque, and twentieth-century in the weekly Office of Compline.
David studied conducting under the mentorship of the renowned conductor and pedagogue William Weinert, who has been his mentor since 2010. He has also received guidance from prominent figures such as Helmuth Rilling, Simon Carrington, Ann Howard Jones, Craig Arnold, Bradley Lubman, and Cleusía Gonçalves. His piano studies included coaching from Daisy de Lucca, a pupil of Magda Tagliaferro, Friedrich Gulda, Richard Hauser, and Guido Agosti, as well as from David Ehrman. In voice, he trained with Raymond Gibbs, a former tenor at the Metropolitan Opera, Kathryn Cowdrick, and Wayne Kompelien.
David holds both a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Charles W. Kennett Scholarship and the Herman Genhart Choral Conducting Scholar Award, along with full scholarships for both degrees. Eastman’s graduate programs in conducting have consistently ranked as the finest in the United States and globally, according to U.S. News & World Report. While at Eastman, David conducted several ensembles, including the Eastman Chorale, Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Repertory Singers, Eastman Bach Ensemble, and Eastman-Rochester Chorus, and served as the pianist for the Eastman Women’s Chorus. In 2015, he was honored with the prestigious Harvey Fellowship by the Mustard Seed Foundation and received the Burton Fellowship Award for German Studies in 2017. David also holds a Bachelor of Music degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Choral and Piano Performance from Liberty University, where he was recognized as both "Outstanding Music Student of the Year" and "Outstanding Keyboard Student of the Year." During his time at Liberty, he conducted the Timothy International Student Chorale and Liberty Chamber Singers, won the concerto competition, and performed as a soloist at the Honors Recital.
David began his musical journey at the age of nine and earned an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance (ATCL) from Trinity College London in 2004. His life motto is Philippians 4:12-13.
David studied conducting under the mentorship of the renowned conductor and pedagogue William Weinert, who has been his mentor since 2010. He has also received guidance from prominent figures such as Helmuth Rilling, Simon Carrington, Ann Howard Jones, Craig Arnold, Bradley Lubman, and Cleusía Gonçalves. His piano studies included coaching from Daisy de Lucca, a pupil of Magda Tagliaferro, Friedrich Gulda, Richard Hauser, and Guido Agosti, as well as from David Ehrman. In voice, he trained with Raymond Gibbs, a former tenor at the Metropolitan Opera, Kathryn Cowdrick, and Wayne Kompelien.
David holds both a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the Charles W. Kennett Scholarship and the Herman Genhart Choral Conducting Scholar Award, along with full scholarships for both degrees. Eastman’s graduate programs in conducting have consistently ranked as the finest in the United States and globally, according to U.S. News & World Report. While at Eastman, David conducted several ensembles, including the Eastman Chorale, Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Repertory Singers, Eastman Bach Ensemble, and Eastman-Rochester Chorus, and served as the pianist for the Eastman Women’s Chorus. In 2015, he was honored with the prestigious Harvey Fellowship by the Mustard Seed Foundation and received the Burton Fellowship Award for German Studies in 2017. David also holds a Bachelor of Music degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Choral and Piano Performance from Liberty University, where he was recognized as both "Outstanding Music Student of the Year" and "Outstanding Keyboard Student of the Year." During his time at Liberty, he conducted the Timothy International Student Chorale and Liberty Chamber Singers, won the concerto competition, and performed as a soloist at the Honors Recital.
David began his musical journey at the age of nine and earned an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance (ATCL) from Trinity College London in 2004. His life motto is Philippians 4:12-13.
