Darrel Xin

Erhu Musician

Darrel started learning the erhu in 1995 as a student in the Chung Cheng High School (Main). He fell in love with the erhu instantly and from that moment on, his family - and neighbours - listened to his erhu playing daily. Darrel graduated in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in erhu performance from the Central Conservatory of Music In Beijing, China. Although he loves listening to erhu and Western classical music, Darrel is a rocker at heart. He is inspired by blues and rock & roll music from the 1920s to 1960s, as well as classic rock. He also loves playing blues harmonica, reading, watching classic movies and pour-over coffee.

During his National Service, Darrel was a member of the SAF Music and Drama Company. He was a contract musician with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) from 2004 to 2005 and played full time in the Macau Chinese Orchestra from 2009 to 2012. He also co-founded Nen, a Chinese Instrumental trio that plays self-composed music. In the course of his studies in Beijing he was a freelance musician for the China Central Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra. In the year 2000, Darrel emerged as the champion in the erhu senior category of the National Arts Council (NAC) National Chinese Music Competition.

Darrel has performed as a soloist in many appearances both locally and abroad. He was one of the three chosen by the NAC to represent Singapore at the 2004 ASEM V Performing Arts Festival held in Hanoi. He was also the erhu player for Dick Lee’s musical, “Forbidden City” for 3 of its seasons as well as for the CD album. His erhu music was also featured in the soundtracks of local movies such as “Singapore Dreaming” (2006), “12 Lotus”(2008) and “The Fortune Handbook” (2017). As the Concert Master of the 2004 Singapore Youth Chinese Orchestra he performed the erhu concerto “Erhu Rhapsody No.1” accompanied by the SCO. In March 2005, Darrel travelled to Europe with the SCO to perform in Hungary and England. He was the erhu player for NDP 2009. In October 2009, Darrel’s erhu playing was also featured in the Song of Macau “It’s a Wonderful Place”. In 2013, he recorded for the Teng Ensemble's critically acclaimed debut album, “Eight”. After which in 2015, Nen released their debut album, “First Steps”, featuring all-original self-composed music. In that same year, he was the erhu player for Xinyao legend Liang Wen Fu’s debut concert.

Darrel has also recorded tracks under the Ocean Butterflies label for Chingay 2017. In June 2018, Darrel held his debut solo recital at the Esplanade Concert Hall to a full house and rave reviews. In 2019, Darrel recorded erhu parts and appeared in the 60th Anniversary Music Video of Majulah Singapura, sung by Ramli Sarip. His erhu playing was also featured in NDP 2019. Other than performing and recording, Darrel is also committed to inspiring the young to pick up the erhu and develop a love for music. He is currently teaching erhu in schools, as well as privately.