Cellist Bryan Cheng, prize-winner of the 2023 Virginia Parker Prize and 2022 Prix Yves Paternot, and pianist Silvie Cheng, 2022-23 Cecilia Concerts Musician-in-Residence and National Arts Club Artist Fellow, have been making music together their entire lives. Since officially forming the Cheng² Duo at their 2011 Carnegie Weill Recital Hall debut, their artistry has left lasting impressions across the globe, with extensive tours to illustrious concert halls and international festivals throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South Africa.
Recent highlights include recitals at the Frauenkirche Dresden, Flagey (Brussels), Munich Künstlerhaus, California Center for the Arts, Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago), Chamber Music at the Clark (Los Angeles), Harvard University (Cambridge) and Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts (Kingston), as well as Chamberfest Cheboygan, Ottawa Chamberfest and Toronto Summer Music Festivals. Past performances and interviews have been broadcast on CBC Radio, Radio-Canada International, WCRB Classical Music Boston, WCNY Classic FM, Südwestrundfunk (SWR2) Germany and ORF Austria.
In the vanguard of creative programming, Bryan and Silvie are equally committed to presenting traditional masterworks, rediscovering neglected repertoire and championing the music of their time. Since 2013, they have commissioned and arranged 15 new works, as well as curating cross-disciplinary concert experiences that meld classical and contemporary music with jazz, poetry, and visual/media arts. World-class collaborative partners have included photographer and cinematographer Edward Burtynsky, Mercury Films and multimedia studio Normal.
Cheng² Duo has released four critically acclaimed albums on the Canadian label Centrediscs and the German label audite: Portrait (2023) - nominated for a 2024 JUNO Award in the category Classical Album of the Year, Small Ensemble, Russian Legends (2019), Violonchelo del fuego (2018), and Violoncelle français (2016).