Shui served as the Music Director of Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2019, with American Record Review noting that Shui​“turned a good regional orchestra into a world-class ensemble that plays its heart out at every concert”. Together they made several acclaimed tours to Europe, Asia and the United States and appeared for the first time at the BBC Proms in September 2014. As of January 2019, Shui has been appointed SSO’s Conductor Laureate. Shui Shui also held the position of Chief Conductor of Copenhagen Philharmonic from 2007 to 2015, currently serving as the orchestra’s Honorary Conductor. From January 2019, he is the principal Guest Conductor of Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. 

In the United States he has appeared with Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Baltimore and Detroit symphony orchestras. In Europe he has performed with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Gothenburg Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Royal Swedish Orchestra and Orchestre National de Lille. In Asia he has conducted the Hong Kong, Malaysian and Japan Philharmonic Orchestras and maintains a close relationship with China and Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestras and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras.

Since 1998 Shui has recorded over 40 CDs with Singapore Symphony Orchestra for BIS — including the first ever complete cycle of Tcherepnin’s symphonies plus complete orchestra works of Rachmaninov and Debussy. He also recorded Beethoven’s complete symphonies with Copenhagen Philharmonic. His albums have received Grammy nominations twice.

Shui is the recipient of several international awards from the Beijing Arts Festival and the New York Tcherepnin Society, the 37^th Besançon Conductors’ Competition in France and Boston University (Distinguished Alumni Award) as well as the Cultural Medallion — Singapore’s highest accolade in the arts.

Born in Hangzhou, China, Shui studied composition at the Shanghai Conservatory and graduated from The Beijing Central Conservatory. He continued his graduate studies at Boston University while at the same time working closely with Leonard Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He has worked together with David Zinman as Conducting Affiliate of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as Associate Conductor to Neeme Järvi at Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Kurt Masur at New York Philharmonic and with Pierre Boulez at The Cleveland Orchestra.