Chen Xinyu is the youngest First Prize winner of the Pipa Junior, Youth and Open Category of the Singapore National Chinese Music Competition in years 2012, 2014 and 2016. At the age of 10, she was honored to be invited by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra to perform as a soloist at the world record-breaking Mega-Concert “Our People, Our Music 2014” featuring 5000 musicians at the National Stadium. She also won the first place of Youth Category (14 to 16 years old) at the Junior Golden Bell Pipa Competition 2019 and was invited to perform at the Prize Winners’ Concert. She was also the Pipa principal of Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra, which she was a member of from 2013 to 2023.
Chen Xinyu was born in Singapore in 2004. She was admitted into the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts – School of Young Talents at the tender age of 6 under the tutelage of Pipa performer and educator Liu Yan. At the age of 8, she clinched the first Prize in the Pipa Junior Category of the 2012 National Chinese Music Competition organized by the National Arts Council and was also featured as a soloist at the Prize Winners’ Concert. At the age of 9, she joined Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra (SNYCO) as the youngest member and performed “Spring of TianShan” as a Pipa soloist accompanied by Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO). At the age of 10, she clinched the 1st prize in the Pipa Youth category of the 2014 National Chinese Music Competition. She also performed as a soloist at the Temasek Holdings 40th Anniversary Dinner hosted at the Istana. At the age of 11, she received the Best Stage Presence Award at the Young Talent Project 2015 and became the first Chinese Instrumentalist to do so. She also performed as a Pipa soloist at the “Fun with Music” concert accompanied by The Philharmonic Winds at Esplanade Concert Hall. At the age of 12, she emerged as the top-prize winner of the Pipa Open Category in the 2016 National Chinese Music Competition and also performed as a soloist accompanied by SCO at the Prize Winners’ Concert. At the age of 14, she performed “Apsaras on the Silk Road” accompanied by the SCO at the SNYCO and SCO Annual Concert – Dauntless Spirit 2018. At the age of 15, she performed “Pelayaran (Voyage)” at the SNYCO Annual Concert – Exuberance of Youth IV.
Chen Xinyu graduated from Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) in 2020 and graduated from Raffles Institution in 2022. She is studying at University College London (UCL) majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Economics(PPE).