Kai-Young Chan

A Hong Kong-based composer, Kai-Young Chan focuses on the integration of nuance, relevance, and resonance in music that converses with societies and cultures, and he is particularly drawn to turning the constraints of Cantonese text-setting into creative vehicles for both vocal and non-vocal forces.

As a Benjamin Franklin Fellow, Chan earned his PhD in Music Composition from the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with Jay Reise, James Primosch, and Anna Weesner. He currently serves as Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he obtained his Master of Music (under the supervision of Victor Chan) and Bachelor of Arts in Translation with first class honours. He is a two-time recipient of the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award and has received teaching grants to develop online videos and games for tonal and post-tonal harmony pedagogy. Through commissions and grants from the Research Grants Council, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong, and other organisations, he has explored how text-setting constraints in Cantonese can be transformed into creativity in contemporary music.