A conductor, artistic director and documentary host added “Augustana music professor” to his list of titles this fall.
After applying to several jobs during the pandemic, David Chin wasn’t sure where his study of renowned composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach would take him.
He ended up in South Dakota, a state far from his home in Malaysia and his performances across the globe.
“You always feel like you have this goal. You have this direction, and as a conductor you're supposed to know what you’re going to be like in 10 to 20 years,” Chin said. “An American or a Malaysian, you're supposed to know what to do. I have learned, so far in the past 20 years, that it [never] happens the way you think it will.”
Chin became a long-term visiting professor for the School of Music in September, bringing his musical talents and knowledge to Sioux Falls.
At Augustana, Chin will direct the Bach Cantata Series, a collection of vocal pieces accompanied by instruments, and conduct several ensembles. This semester, he teaches “The Understanding of Music” and “Music History and Literature to 1750.”
Chin earned his doctorate and master’s degree from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
“I am a third generation Chinese from Malaysia,” Chin said.“I have been in the United States since 2005 and have done all of my degrees here.”
Today, Chin is known as the founder and artistic director of Bachfest Malaysia, a festival of singers and orchestras that tours major cities. He is also the conductor of the award-winning Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra.
Chin’s experience in music and expertise in the music and life of Bach led him to be named the senior fellow of Bach-Archiv Leipzig in 2022, a center for Bach scholarship in Germany. Chin became the fourth individual to have the title since the organization’s founding in 1950.
Chin’s knowledge of Bach has also appeared on film. In 2020, Chin hosted a documentary film titled “Encountering Bach,” in which he visited related landmarks and talked to 15 well-known German Bach scholars and musicians.
Peter Folliard, the dean of the School of Music, met Chin in 2014 when they both were doctoral students at the Eastman School of Music. Folliard said they had been professional acquaintances since then, and with that friendliness came respect and support.
In need of a new faculty member in vocal studies, Folliard reached out to William Weinert, the director of choral activities at the Eastman School of Music. Weinert quickly recommended Chin for the job and submitted a letter of recommendation on his behalf. Folliard then contacted Chin about the opportunity.
“The rest, as they say, is history,” Folliard said.
Chin said he was excited to hear about the open position at Augustana.
“A colleague of mine told me there was an opening, so I thought this must be sent by God, because I didn’t apply for it, and [the School of Music] came to me,” Chin said.
Now several months into his teaching career at Augustana, Chin said he relates to the freshman class because he has just started at the university and is learning day by day, just like they are.
“He's a really good teacher,” sophomore Alex Folgar, who is currently taking Chin’s music history class, said. “He makes everything fun.”
Folgar said one of the most memorable parts of Chin’s course has been the students’ trip to a renaissance concert that featured a choral group known as Transept.
“[Chin] brought us to watch it because it was going to be the new unit that we were going to be working on,” Folgar said. “Beforehand, he had us come in 30 minutes early so we could talk to the performers and talk about the music and the importance of it.”
Chin is currently on a trip to Asia to conduct a rehearsal for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, which will perform in March.
"It is very rare that you have a school of music in a university,” Chin said. “But here, people think more communally [and ask] ‘What can I contribute to a greater society?’ That's why you have all these choirs and orchestras. People like to do things together.”