Mark Chan

Mark Chan
Native name	陈国华
Born	1958
Origin	Singapore
Occupation(s)	composer, recording artist, singer, instrumentalist, poet and painter

Mark Chan (born 1958) is a Singaporean composer, recording artist, singer, instrumentalist, poet and painter. He studied fine arts at the Edinburgh College of Art. He is recognised as a renowned Singaporean composer.

Chan trained for 9 years in classical Chinese flutes (dizi and xiao), for 7 years as a classical countertenor and for various years with other instruments including the cello, erhu, pipa, guanzi, piano and percussion. He also plays Japanese and Indonesian flutes. Chan is known for his style, which he describes as a "blend of Eastern and Western sounds, fusing a range of Chinese, Indonesian, Malay and Indian elements with a modern international sensibility." On Singapore television, he was the host of Common Threads and Retro Trek.

Chan completed his primary and secondary education in Anglo-Chinese School, where he was a nationally ranked swimmer. His father Chan Ah Kow was the Singapore National Olympic Council's Coach of the Year in 1970–72. Mark and his siblings Alex, Bernard, Roy and Patricia were trained by their father and swam competitively. Another sister Victoria Chan-Palay became a neuroscientist in the United States and Switzerland.

As an openly gay artist, Chan said his sexuality was never an issue in the Singapore industry. He once advised young gay artists to, "first and foremost, be an artist. A good one. And only after that, a gay one. It's not a side issue but the art thing is so big it requires the whole of you." As an artist, Chan has a reputation for being exacting.

Chan describes himself as a Zen-Buddhist and Taoist.

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