Low Yik Hang has been a percussionist with Ding Yi Music Company since 2009. He also collaborates with the group A Bigger Bang Percussion under conductor Quek Ling Kiong.
A versatile musician, he is skilled in Chinese and Western percussion, as well as the traditional Middle Eastern darbuka, a goblet drum.
He was awarded the National Arts Council’s Overseas Scholarship in 2011 and the China National Government Scholarship in 2015. In 2017, he earned his Master’s Degree in Chinese Percussion at the Central Conservatory of Music, mentored by eminent Chinese percussion professor Wang Jian Hua. In 2023, he was awarded a Master’s Degree in Music, majoring in Percussion from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore.
Low’s passion for percussion developed during his secondary school years, under the influence of former Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) gaohu and percussion musician Low Cher Yong. He further refined his Chinese percussion skills under the mentorship of esteemed conductor Quek Ling Kiong and SCO percussionist Ngoh Kheng Seng, and learnt the kanjira from Sri D Rajagopal.
In 2014, Low received the prestigious NAC Capability Development Grant, which enabled him to pursue Middle Eastern rhythm training under the guidance of world-renowned darbuka master Misirli Ahmet, at the Misirli Ahmet Rhythm Academy in Istanbul, Turkey.
“As an introvert, the vast and versatile range of percussion instruments provides me with a medium of expression and a profound connection with audiences,” Low says of his musical expression.
Low cites his former teachers Wang Jian Hua and Misirli Ahmet, as well as renowned Indian tabla player and composer Zakir Hussain, as his inspirations. “They are exceptional artists who have dedicated their entire lives to refining their artistic craft, and they motivate my own musical journey,” he says.
