Dr Ng Hsien Han joined Ding Yi Music Company in 2012 as a dizi musician. He is currently an adjunct lecturer with Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and is also the ensemble manager of Dicapella, the only dizi ensemble in Singapore.
He first picked up the dizi under Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) musician Lee Heng Quey, and fell in love with the instrument’s resonant, breathy timbre.
He later came under the tutelage of renowned dizi performer and educator Professor Zhan Yong Ming. As a visiting scholar at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 2020-2021, Ng was also guided by SCO dizi principal Yi Zhi Yang. In 2023, he received a doctorate in Philosophy (Dizi Acoustics) from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
Ng has performed as a soloist with many reputable orchestras, and is known for his expressive, melodic flair. He staged a dizi concerto with the SCO in 2010, and in 2013 collaborated with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Symphonic Wind Ensemble to perform the piece Madam White Snake, conducted by renowned Taiwanese conductor Lin Chun Chi.
He clinched the second prize in the dizi open category at the National Chinese Music Competition organised by the National Arts Council in 2014. In 2017, Ng was awarded the prestigious SUTD President Graduate Scholarship to carry out research in the field of dizi.
Becoming a dizi musician is a calling, he says, and he has his sights on being a world class one. He aims equally high for Ding Yi, aspiring for it to become the world’s top Chinese chamber music ensemble.
He also devotes over 20 hours a week to teaching dizi in schools and in private lessons to inspire and hone the next generation of dizi musicians.
The iconic 牧民新歌 (New Song of the Herdsman) is Ng’s favourite Chinese traditional piece to perform – its melody carried by the dizi to evoke nostalgic images of an idyllic, pastoral life.
