
David Chin
Founder and Artistic Director
Bachfest Malaysia
David Chin is the founder and Artistic Director of Bachfest Malaysia, and the conductor of the award-winning Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra, as well as Mendelssohnchor Malaysia. Chin has recently been appointed as a Senior Fellow of Bach-Archiv Leipzig, and was commissioned to produce a Chinese version of the monumental Bach database website. He has translated Michael Maul’s latest Bach pictorial biography from German into Chinese, published by Bachfest Malaysia. He recently played the harpsichord for a concert conducted by Ton Koopman at the St. Thomas Church during Bachfest Leipzig, as well as concerts by the Arnstadt Bach Choir and capella arnestati (Leipzig-based period instrumental ensemble), as well as the Ukrainian Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been invited to present his paper at the American Bach Society in Philadelphia this October. In 2020, Chin produced Encountering Bach, a documentary film on the life and music of J.S. Bach filmed exclusively in Germany.
In addition to his home country Malaysia and the United States, David has been invited to teach and perform in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and Italy. David has conducted all the major works by J.S. Bach and more than three dozens of Bach cantatas. In addition, he has also led choirs and orchestras around the world in numerous major works by composers ranging from the Renaissance era to the 21st century and world-premieres, a capella to choral-orchestral works, and standard repertoire to vocal jazz and Broadway musicals. He has served as Director of Choral Activities and Music Professor at multiple universities in the United States, and his conducting students have been admitted to graduate programs at prominent institutions such as the Westminster Choir College, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, Georgia State University, University of Tennessee, and University of Connecticut, to name a few. David currently serves on the music committee of the national Chinese independent high schools in Malaysia, where he is one of the music textbook editors, and provides music training for music teachers throughout the nation. He was the Artistic Director of Hong Kong Bach Festival from 2013-2017, and the Artistic Director of East Malaysia Bach Cantata Singers and Orchestra from 2014-2018. David holds both Master’s and Doctoral degrees in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, where he received full scholarship to pursue both degrees. His motto is Philippians 4:13.
Official website: www.davidchinmusic.com