Biography

Patty Chan is a second-generation Chinese Canadian erhu musician, educator, composer, and author. She
is the Concertmaster of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra (www.TorontoChineseOrchestra.com), Co-founder of PhoeNX Ensemble (www.PhoeNXEnsemble.com) with harpist Sanya Eng, and the Founder of the Centre for Music Innovations (https://musinno.com). As an erhu musician, Patty has collaborated and premiered new works with many ensembles and organizations, including New Music Concerts, Strings of St. John’s, Red Snow Collective, the Toronto Masque Theatre, and the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. Her composition, Redemption: The Chan Kol Nidre (2015) for erhu and viola da gamba has been added to the archives at the Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv, a museum for the Jewish people. Her documentary about the history and legacy of the first Chinese orchestra in Toronto, Finding Belonging (2022), received an Award of Distinction by the Canada Shorts Film Festival (2024). Patty has taught erhu and Chinese music at York, Toronto Metropolitan, and Carleton universities. She teaches erhu locally and internationally through the Centre for Music Innovations. She has written several books about the erhu that have sold in over 30 countries, and a children’s storybook about Chinese instruments with narration in three languages and music recording. She completed her MA in ethnomusicology at York University, with a focus on Chinese orchestras in the diaspora, and creating cultural connections through music.