Rit Xu

Rit Xu (also known as 許凱翔) is a Singapore-based award-winning flutist, composer, educator, and recording artist. He has emerged as a leading light of his generation, gaining international recognition for his lyrical, thoughtful, and introspective musical voice on the flute. In 2014, Rit was named the winner of the National Flute Association (NFA) Jazz Artist Competition, becoming the first Southeast Asian to win a solo jazz competition in the United States. An honors graduate in classical flute performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore, he is equally comfortable playing on the hallowed stages of concert halls as in intimate jazz clubs. His improvised melodies draw influence from notable trumpeters and saxophonists, pushing the boundaries of what the flute can achieve sonically and emotionally outside of its familiar association with Western classical music. Since winning the Thailand International Jazz Solo Competition in 2011, Rit has performed with the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra at the Jazzaar Festival and was a member of the Asian Youth Jazz Orchestra's inaugural tour across Southeast Asia and Japan. In Singapore, he is an integral sideman with jazz icon Jeremy Monteiro and a key member of the classical-pop fusion group Lorong Boys. A first-call flutist in the recording scene since the age of 9, Rit played all flute solos for the soundtrack of the Taiwanese epic movie, "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale", which won the 48th Golden Horse Award for best original film score. His versatility extends to a broad spectrum of instruments including the EWI, Chinese bamboo flutes, shakuhachi, Indian bansuri, Andes quena, and pan flutes. In 2022, he won the Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest honor for young arts practitioners. Currently, Rit serves as the Assistant Music Director of JASS and is a Powell Flutes Artist.