David Wei Han Dai is an Adelaide-based erhu artist, composer and cross-disciplinary musician whose practice brings traditional Chinese music into contemporary performance and sound contexts.
Trained in Chinese music with the erhu as his principal instrument, David works across performance, composition, improvisation and electronic sound. His practice moves between concert halls, galleries, festivals and site-responsive environments, exploring new possibilities for the erhu through collaboration and experimentation.
David is a co-founder and core member of Silk Strings Ensemble and San Ureshi, and has collaborated with artists and organisations across Australia and internationally. His recent work includes a residency at the Art Gallery of South Australia as part of Yield Strength, and Seams, a collaborative project with double bassist, vocalist and composer Helen Svoboda exploring erhu, voice, double bass and electronics.
His broader practice includes the new music project Resonance of the Huqin – New Voices from South Australia, original compositions and contemporary performance projects presented through organisations and festivals including OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Nexus Arts and Musica Viva Australia.
Alongside his creative practice, David is an experienced educator and teaching artist. Through performance, collaboration and education, he continues to explore the erhu as a living instrument—one that carries its cultural history while evolving within contemporary musical and artistic contexts.
Artistic Practice
The Erhu as a Contemporary Instrument
Rooted in the erhu, the practice explores its possibilities beyond traditional performance. New repertoire, improvisation, extended techniques and electronics expand the instrument into contemporary sound and performance contexts.
Tradition & Transformation
Traditional musical knowledge remains a foundation while being placed in new contexts. The work explores how inherited sounds and techniques can be transformed, reinterpreted and experienced in new ways.
Sound, Electronics & Experimentation
Electronics and effects extend the acoustic voice of the erhu, creating new textures, resonances and spatial possibilities. Technology becomes a tool for experimentation rather than simply an addition to the instrument.
Improvisation & Collaboration
Improvisation creates space for listening, response and discovery. Collaboration brings the erhu into dialogue with different instruments, voices, artists and environments, allowing new ideas to emerge through interaction.
Sound, Space & Cultural Memory
Sound is explored in relation to place, identity and cultural memory. Performances in galleries, public spaces and site-responsive environments create new contexts for the erhu and its cultural history.
