External Research Associate
Contract Faculty
Department of Music, York University
Research Keywords:
Chinese Canadian; Chinese orchestra; diaspora; hybridity; identity; community
Research Region(s):
Research Diaspora(s):
Chinese Diaspora
Patty Chan is a second-generation Chinese Canadian erhu musician, educator and author. She is the co-founder of PhoeNX Ensemble with harpist Sanya Eng. PhoeNX’s mission is to explore and expand the East/West mixed ensemble medium through performances, workshops, commissions and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Patty is the Founder of the Centre for Music Innovations, which offers Chinese music lessons, workshops and performances. CMI is also creating a database of Chinese orchestral works that have been translated into English, enabling further access for a global audience to a rich body of repertoire. As well, Patty is the past Music Director of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra, Canada's longest running traditional Chinese orchestra. Under her leadership, the orchestra has grown and expanded its reach, performing locally and internationally, commissioning new works, and mentoring young musicians. In 2023, TCO became the Community Partner-in-Residence with York University's Music Department.
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.
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.
Patty strives to broaden her knowledge in the study of Chinese and Chinese Canadian music and culture in Canada, develop practical and effective solutions that can impact the multicultural fabric of our community, and cultivate an understanding of and an appreciation for Chinese music in the mainstream Canadian music world. Her passion is to bridge the gap between cultures and encourage the evolution of new works to reflect the multifaceted Canadian identity. Sustainability, relevance and integrating Canadian and Chinese experience through music are some topics she would like to explore further in her research.