Touted as one of the most promising musicians of his generation, (The Straits Time, Singapore), percussionist Derek Koh’s sensitive musical voice and varied musical ventures have afforded him the opportunity to perform extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. His burgeoning rise as a dynamic and flexible musician has led him to work with art forms of all genres and mediums, from western and Chinese classical music to theatre and dance. Derek joined the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) as percussion musician in 2022.

A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts School of Young Talents, he continued his undergraduate studies at the institution where he received his Bachelor of Music conferred by the Royal College of Music. Derek then headed to New York to receive his Master of Music at the Mannes School of Music with a full Mannes Dean’s Scholarship.

Derek most recently performed with the Berlin Philharmonic new music ensemble ZeMU Ensemble at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2022, and is a regular substitute with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He has also been invited as guest percussionist for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Szechuan Symphony Orchestra and was a fellow at the Grammy-award winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Derek is creative director of acclaimed contemporary percussion collective Morse Percussion, chairman at the Singapore Chinese Music Federation Youth Chapter, secretary-general at the Percussion Association of Singapore and adjunct faculty at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the Singapore Armed Forces Band. Derek is a Freer Percussion Artist and plays exclusively on Freer Percussion mallets.