Neil Chan Electronic Press Kit

Neil Chan is an award-winning fingerstyle guitarist and world musician based in Singapore who fuses elements of musical cultures around the world including jazz, flamenco, Carnatic and Andean music. Employing advanced techniques such as fretboard tapping and cross-cultural percussive styles, he articulates his music in creative and innovative ways that strive to open your eyes and ears to new musical possibilities. 

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Neil holds a Bachelors Degree in Music (Honours) from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), National University of Singapore. He was awarded the full YSTCM Scholarship in 2011, and was twice awarded the Artistic Development Grant to study traditional music in Bali and fingerstyle guitar in Austria. He is currently the official ambassador of Maestro Guitars Singapore and has performed at renown stages including the President’s Star Charity live telecast, Mosaic Music Festival, Singapore Night Festival, NUS Arts Festival, and emerged champion of the Singapore Street Festival in 2012. He has performed alongside South Korean guitar virtuoso Sungha Jung at the Kallang Theatre (2016) and opened the 42nd Anniversary service of Willow Creek Church in Chicago (2017). 

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Neil’s current work with music focuses on four pillars: Artistry, Education, Research, and Outreach. Alongside performing, composing and exploring new musical styles (Artistry), he actively conducts music workshops locally and internationally, as well as private lessons in fingerstyle guitar and voice. He also serves as a guest lecturer on ‘Hybrid Music in Singapore’ and ‘Business as a Musician’ at YSTCM (Education). His interest in ethnomusicology has led him to document traditional music practices locally and in the region, as well as delve into research on musical hybridity in Singapore (Research). His passion for music and community service gave rise to his Music for Well-being Initiatives, where he actively gathers musicians and non-musicians alike to reach out to the community with the goal of inspiring participants to carry on such work on their own. He has led teams to bring music to hospital wards, migrant worker food projects, and dementia-care events, as well as worked alongside professional musicians to engage refugees in Indonesia (2019) and orphans in Myanmar (2017) through creative music workshops (Outreach).