Patty Chan · York Centre for Asian Research

Graduate Associate

MFA Student (Production specialization)

Graduate Program in Film/Cinema and Media Studies, York University

Research Keywords:

Chinese Canadian Diaspora; Chinese music; storytelling; immigrant experience

Research Diaspora(s):

Chinese Diaspora

Patty Chan is a second-generation Chinese Canadian erhu musician, educator, composer and author. She is the Concertmaster of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra, Co-founder of PhoeNX Ensemble with harpist Sanya Eng, and the Founder of the Centre for Music Innovations. 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 has begun to explore filmmaking: her award-winning documentary, Finding Belonging (2022), details the history and legacy of Toronto’s first Chinese orchestra. Patty completed her MA in ethnomusicology at York University, with a focus on Chinese orchestras in the diaspora, and creating cultural connections through music. She is currently starting her MFA in film production at York University.

https://musinno.com