Biography

Dr. Cheng Wai is one of the most renowned pianists in the world, and without surprise. Her music is a song of femininity and strength, a harmony between the East and West. She is admired for her exquisite musicianship and consummate technical ability. Not merely a pianist, Dr. Cheng Wai has embraced the roles of an educator, philanthropist, and ambassador of the arts. She leads the way in incorporating classical music into the modern age through her bridging of cultures, collaborative and versatile spirit, and her message of empowerment and positivity. Both performing for sold out concerts and holding volunteer master classes free and open to the public, she uses her platform to introduce a new style of classic music that crosses borders as a harmony of Eastern and Western musical elements, all the while encouraging and empowering her audience, especially women and children, in their passion and pursuit of classical music.

​

Graduating early from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, she went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a master’s degree and artist diploma at Yale University. At the New York State University at Stony Brook, she finished with her doctoral degree. Her principal teachers include legendary musicians such as Ling Yuan, Gabriel Kwok, John Winther, Seymour Lipkin, Claude Frank, and Gilbert Kalish.

​

Dr. Cheng Wai's music has echoed throughout the concert halls of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center in USA, National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Harbin Grand Theatre etc.

​

As one of Hong Kong's most versatile and renowned pianists, she is active both as a soloist and chamber musician, She has collaborated with violinists: Lu Si-qing, Li Chuan-yun, Jue Yao, and Mira Wang Zheng-rong; cellists: Wang Jian and Chu Yi-bing; clarinettiste: Florent Héau; singers: Wai Song (tenor), Huang Ying (soprano), Ke Luwa (soprano), Zhang Qiu Lin (alto) and Gordon Feng (alto) etc.; and conductors: Augustin Dumay, Gustave Meier, Lawrence Smith, Samuel Wong, Yip Wing-sie, Zheng Xiao Ying, Mak Ka-lok, Hu Yong Yan, Yan Hui Chang etc. to list a few.

​

Dr. Cheng also serves on the faculty of prestigious music events by invitation, such as the Schlern International Music Festival in Italy the summer of 2015, as well as the Vianden International Chamber Music Festival that following August. In 2017, she will be attending the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain in July the Master Player Festival in U.S.A. later in August as a special guest and mentor.

​

She currently serves as the chairwoman of the Central Conservatory of Music (HK) Foundation, and teaches at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, in addition to being a frequent adjudicator for numerous local and international competitions. She is the artistic director and founder of the Cheng Wai Piano Institute (CWPI) and is a founding member of the Metropolitan Trio and JW Piano Duo.

​

In recognition of her outstanding achievements in music and promotion of culture and art, Dr. Cheng Wai was voted as one of the "10 Outstanding Young Persons Selection 2009" by the Junior Chamber International Hong Kong, featured as a Steinway artist, and praised as "The Piano Poet" of our generation, following the footsteps of the Romantic period icon, Chopin. After recently finishing her "Dessiner La Musique" Cheng Wai Recital China Tour in the summer of 2017, she continues to contribute towards fostering harmony between cultures, reinterpreting classical music, and empowering fellow classical music enthusiasts as she travels the world, sharing her music and her story.