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Shun Ng (born May 24, 1990) is an American
fingerstyle Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...
guitarist, singer and songwriter known for his flamboyant guitar style and energetic performances. He is a
Boston Music Award Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyhor ...
winner and recipient of the
Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...
'Holly Prize'.


Early life and education

Shun Ng was born in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
while his father was studying at Northwestern University, after which his family moved back to
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Ng began competitive gymnastics at an early age; when a teammate brought a guitar into the gym, Ng shifted his interest to music. Ng was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of eight, and, in spite of earnest efforts, struggled through most of his education. Ng was mentored by Singaporean Composer &
Cultural Medallion The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award. Histor ...
winner, Dr. Kelly Tang. Ng attended
Singapore Polytechnic Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1954, the institution is the first and oldest polytechnic in Singapore and is ...
and attained an associate degree in Music & Audio Technology in 2010. Ng served his two-year National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces Music and Drama Company. He performed in the band and subsequently served as an arranger. In 2012, Ng was accepted into
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
on a scholarship and in 2013 earned entry into the highly-selective Artist Diploma program. Ng completed one semester on the Artist Diploma program before leaving
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
.


Career

In 2010, Ng was invited by Singaporean composer Iskandar Ismail to perform at the closing ceremony of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. In 2012, Ng independently released his debut album, ''Funky Thumb Stuff''. Ng was invited to perform for the president of Singapore for the national broadcast, President's Star Charity which raised $6.23 million that year. He also performed as part of
Jeremy Monteiro Jeremy Ian Monteiro (born 20 June 1960, Singapore) is a Singaporean jazz pianist, singer, composer, and music educator. In Singapore he was mentioned by the local press as Singapore's "King of Swing". Monteiro was awarded the Cultural Medallion ...
's "Jazzy Christmas! Duets" concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. Ng performed his first show in America at Boston Beyond Borders and shared the bill with singer-songwriter,
Livingston Taylor Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Boston and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he is the brother of singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer-songwriter Kate Taylor, singer A ...
and other established Boston acts. In January 2013, Ng signed with Ralph Jaccodine Management. In May 2013, Ng released a new video, ''"Get On With It"''. The video came to the attention of producer
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
, who then invited Shun to his home for a meeting, receiving high praise from the producer. In talking about Ng, he said, ''"When you see Shun Ng, you won't believe your eyes nor your ears - he belies all stereotypes, all premonitions. I was simply blown away by both his soul and his science - his creativity and his uniqueness is astounding."'' Ng was nominated for a Boston Music Award and performed at the 2013 awards show. That same year, he was also cited by
The Improper Bostonian ''The Improper Bostonian'' was a glossy lifestyle magazine first published in August 1991 "highlighting the people and places that make Boston a world-class city." After 28 years, publisher Wendy Semonian Eppich announced that the magazine ceased ...
Magazine as one of the "Top Ten Local acts that rock". In 2014,
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
presented Ng at the ''"Quincy Jones Presents: Shun Ng"'' showcase at the Eli Broad Stage in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
. In December 2014, Ng released a solo acoustic version of
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...
". Shortly after, the video was tweeted by Queen's lead guitarist,
Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
. In 2015, Ng signed with Supreme Entertainment Artists. Ng is a 5-time
Boston Music Award Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyhor ...
nominee and in 2015, won the 'International Artist of The Year' at the
Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyhor ...
. In 2016, Ng was awarded the 'Holly Prize' by the
Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...
.


Magic Dick & Shun Ng

In 2014, Ng began collaborating and touring with
The J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...
co-founder and harmonica player
Magic Dick Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
. They formed an acoustic duo and released a single of James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag". The duo began touring in 2015 and has toured on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise with acts including Buddy Guy, Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint. As well as the Beale Street Music Festival at
Memphis in May Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...
which included other acts like Paul Simon, Neil Young, Jason Derulo, Beck and Meghan Trainor. On September, 2016, the duo released their debut album, titled "About Time". The album received a 5-Star rating on Roots Music Report, and has received positive reviews from other Blues and Roots media outlets.


Shun Ng & the Shunettes

In 2015, Ng co-founded "the Shunettes" with arranger and singer, Deon Mose. Later that year, Mose brought on soprano, Angel Chisholm, daughter of Jackie Clark from the Grammy award-winning vocal group,
The Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Clark ...
. Shun Ng & the Shunettes performed their debut at the 2016 Boston Music Awards. In 2017, Shun Ng & the Shunettes performed at the KK Jazz Festival featuring guest Shunette, The Voice of China finalist, Melody Tan. In December 2017, Shun Ng & the Shunettes were featured on Channel News Asia as part of their 2017 Asian tour on the morning talk show, First Look Asia.


Awards and nominations


Guitars

Ng plays guitars made by Malaysian Luthier
Jeffrey Yong Jeffrey Yong (born 29 November 1958) is a Malaysian Luthier best known for his use of local Malaysian wood, such as monkeypod, rengas, mango, rambutan and Malaysian blackwood. The use of non-traditional wood to build musical instruments has no ...
from
Albizia saman ''Samanea saman'', also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, ...
wood. His most frequently used guitar features a multi-scaled neck. The guitar was featured at the 2011 Montreal Guitar Show.


References


External links

* *
Musical minds connecting in Salem - Boston Globe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ng, Shun 1990 births Living people Fingerstyle guitarists American male guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Berklee College of Music alumni