RIT XU
Singapore-based award winning jazz flutist, composer, educator and bandleader, Rit Xu’s highly energetic performances has reached and inspired listeners from Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan to Mexico, Slovakia, Switzerland, South Africa and the United States, amongst many other countries. In 2014, Rit was recognized for his finesse as a flutist and improviser by being named winner of the United States National Flute Association’s Jazz Artist Competition. In 2015, he graduated with classical flute performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music of the National University of Singapore (YSTNUS).
Rit is a highly versatile Flute player. Besides the Boehm flute being his primary tool of expression, his versatility includes the EWI, Chinese bamboo flutes, shakuhachi, Indian bansuri, Andes quena and the pan flutes. Rit played all flute solos in the soundtrack of Taiwanese epic movie, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, which won the 48th Golden Horse Award for best original film score.
Since bursting onto the Singapore jazz scene in 2011 after winning first prize in the Thailand International Jazz Solo Competition, Rit has steered a steady course of growth as an instrumentalist and composer. His debut album, "On a Little Street in Singapore: A Jazzy Conversation" was released in August 2014 featuring a showcase for duets with ace pianist Eugene Ang. In 2015, he made his debut appearance with the Swiss Youth World Music Ensemble and performed at the annual Jazzaar Festival alongside jazz heavyweights such as A.T.N. Stadwijk, Donny McCaslin, Rodney Holmes, Csaba Toth Bagi, Kai Eckhardt, Anders Bostrom, Jamshied Sharifi and Ismail Lumonovski. During the same year, he took part in a region-wide audition and successfully won a spot in the prestigious, 26-piece Asian Youth Jazz Orchestra, led by the great Japanese trombonist and conductor, Osamu Matsumoto and pianist Mayuko Katakura. Back home, Rit is a key member of Jeremy Monteiro's Jazz Brasileiro, the Greg Lyons Quintet and his 10-piece modern jazz outlet Omniform, the Lorong Boys, amongst many others.
At his free time, Rit enjoys a variety of sports such as mountain biking, indoor climbing, swimming and competitive bowling. He also has a keen interest in positive psychology, achieving mental well-being and read a lot into the humanities, especially history. Rit plays on Powell and Weissenberg flutes.
Rit is a highly versatile Flute player. Besides the Boehm flute being his primary tool of expression, his versatility includes the EWI, Chinese bamboo flutes, shakuhachi, Indian bansuri, Andes quena and the pan flutes. Rit played all flute solos in the soundtrack of Taiwanese epic movie, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, which won the 48th Golden Horse Award for best original film score.
Since bursting onto the Singapore jazz scene in 2011 after winning first prize in the Thailand International Jazz Solo Competition, Rit has steered a steady course of growth as an instrumentalist and composer. His debut album, "On a Little Street in Singapore: A Jazzy Conversation" was released in August 2014 featuring a showcase for duets with ace pianist Eugene Ang. In 2015, he made his debut appearance with the Swiss Youth World Music Ensemble and performed at the annual Jazzaar Festival alongside jazz heavyweights such as A.T.N. Stadwijk, Donny McCaslin, Rodney Holmes, Csaba Toth Bagi, Kai Eckhardt, Anders Bostrom, Jamshied Sharifi and Ismail Lumonovski. During the same year, he took part in a region-wide audition and successfully won a spot in the prestigious, 26-piece Asian Youth Jazz Orchestra, led by the great Japanese trombonist and conductor, Osamu Matsumoto and pianist Mayuko Katakura. Back home, Rit is a key member of Jeremy Monteiro's Jazz Brasileiro, the Greg Lyons Quintet and his 10-piece modern jazz outlet Omniform, the Lorong Boys, amongst many others.
At his free time, Rit enjoys a variety of sports such as mountain biking, indoor climbing, swimming and competitive bowling. He also has a keen interest in positive psychology, achieving mental well-being and read a lot into the humanities, especially history. Rit plays on Powell and Weissenberg flutes.