Itsumo Nando Demo (Always With Me) from Spirited Away by Xiu-Min Lin in Botanic Gardens MRT

Xiu-Min Lin, piano
Pianokungfu Music Academy, Singapore
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Botanic Gardens MRT station, Singapore
16 November 2024
Xiu-Min Lin is a classical pianist and piano teacher based in Singapore.
At the tender age of 11, he was the youngest person in the world in his time to attain a Fellowship Diploma from London’s Trinity College of Music (FTCL). His induction into the world of music was a mere 5 years before he achieved this incredible feat. Little did his parents know when they first sent him for piano lessons at a community centre that their son had a natural affinity to music. The first confirmation of his prodigious talent came when he passed ABRSM Grade 8 with Distinction at age 9.
Subsequently, it came as no surprise when Xiu-Min was offered a scholarship from the renowned Royal Academy of Music in London on the spot during his audition by Professor Christopher Elton, then Head of the Keyboard department. But life has its own plans. While he was brilliant with his fingers, he was equally brilliant with his mind: he was simultaneously offered a scholarship to Melbourne Medical School in Australia, which he accepted obligatorily.
But medical studies could not stop Xiu-Min from honing his keyboard skills on the side. He took private lessons with the leading piano professors in Melbourne at that time, namely, Ronald Farren-Price and Frank Wibaut. He even travelled to Poland to seek the secrets of playing Chopin, and learnt the Chopin & Neuhaus Piano Method from Polish pedagogue Stefan Kutrzeba. His performances there left such a strong impression that he was invited back to Poland for a series of recitals.
In his later years, Xiu-Min studied piano with Boris Petrushansky in Imola Piano Academy in Italy, one of the most prestigious piano schools in the world. He also pursued guidance from such eminent Russian masters as Andrei Gavrilov, Elena Kuschnerova, Dmitri Bashkirov and Mikhail Voskresensky.
Today, Xiu-Min is a practising family physician who continues to juggle both piano and doctoring. In 2010, he organised and performed a historic Chopin piano recital with two other doctor-pianists, with honorary patronage by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. This was followed shortly with his own recital, including Liszt’s Sonata, to critical acclaim.
As an avid chamber musician, he has also collaborated with violinist Oleksandr Korniev, as well as cellists Brandon Voo and Loke Hoe Kit. He also gave informal performances at Alexandra Hospital and National University Hospital to bring cheer to patients and staff.
In 2024, Xiu-Min released his debut recording of ABRSM Grades 1 to 8 piano exam pieces for 2023 and 2024. Shortly after, he launched his second album featuring the new ABRSM piano syllabus for 2025 and 2026.
Xiu-Min has set up his own piano school called Pianokungfu Music Academy. He hopes to raise the standards of piano-playing in the country by imparting the secrets of his art to aspiring students, and guide them towards unprecedented achievements in the musical world.