pianist | composer | interdisciplinary artist

Sing-Yat Chen (陳星逸) is a pianist, composer, and interdisciplinary artist from Hong Kong.

Her creative voice was hailed by Neue Musik Zeitung as “impressively reflective of an inner struggle.” Through her work, she integrates music, literature, visual arts, and science to explore spiritual-philosophical ideas and provide solace.

As a nominee for the Gaudeamus Award 2026 and a finalist of the 80th Concours de Genève, her compositions bridge Eastern and Western sensibilities, dualities of synthesized and organic sounds, fragility and materiality with poetics.

As a versatile performer and former piano fellow at the Bang on a Can LOUD Weekend 2023, Sing-Yat has performed with the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Actively promoting contemporary music, her collaborations include Ensemble Modern, Collective Lovemusic, IEMA Ensemble 2025–2026, Het Muziek, LaKT Ensemble, Kinetic Ensemble, Neo Quartet, Romer Quartet, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, and sound artist Vica Pacheco.

Her works have been featured at outHEAR New Music 2026 and Festival Mixtur 2025, and broadcast on Belgian Internet Radio Organroxx and RTHK Radio 4. Her composition have been performed on the historic 1746 Hildebrandt organ in St. Wenzel (Naumburg, Germany)—an instrument personally tested and approved by Johann Sebastian Bach.

She believes in the spirituality of music which reflects humanity across space and time.

Her interdisciplinary approach incorporates spatialization, movement, and cognitive science, with an expanding focus on electronics and improvisation to create immersive experiences.

about

A black-and-white line drawing of Sing-Yat's Chinese name.

Black and white illustration of Chinese characters "sing-yat" arranged vertically.

A woman with dark hair tied back with a red hair tie, wearing a black t-shirt featuring a red dragon design, standing in front of a mirror.

event highlights

Portrait interview: https://youtu.be/DQNmp6QuRoI ?si=JOPnLQnufiGPjejW
work 1: wasteland ii (here is no water but rock… if there were water…) featured in concert IEMA-Ensemble 2025/26 – Lunch break concert
Part of Gaudeamus 2026 Lunch break concert
Date: Fri 11 Sep, 13:00 - 14:00 h
Location: TivoliVredenburg - Hertz
Price: Free
CREDITS
Luciano Maria Moricca – oboe
Federico Ambruosi – sound design
work 2: to try to remember what it left featured in concert Soheil Shayesteh & Nils Petter Molvær & Het Muziek
Part of Gaudeamus 2026 Saturday night
Date: Sat 12 Sep, 19:30 - 20:45 h
Location: TivoliVredenburg - Hertz
Price: €29.00 - €54.00
Het Muziek:
Shannon Lee – Violin
Marijke van Kooten – Violin
Lisa Eggen – Viola
Sebastiaan van Halsema – Violincello
Jordi Carrasco Hjelm – Double bass
Leslie Pérez-Canto – Conductor
String ensemble through Open Call for Emerging String players (Ulysses Musician Journey):
Zofia Debska – Viola
Svetlana Riger – Violin
Tiag Yi Tan – Violin
Nicolò Bottasso – Violin
Vivian Giesbertz – Violin
Hortense Airault – Violoncello
Hesce Mourits – Violoncello
Timotej Willewaldt – Violin
Alkistis Μisouli – Viola
Sacha Palies – Double bass
commissioned work: chronotope_02: les plis de la nuit with lovemusic
Part of Gaudeamus 2026 Saturday night
Date: Sat 12 Sep, 21:45 - 22:45 h
Location: TivoliVredenburg - Pandora
Price: €29.00 - €54.00
CREDITS
Emiliano Gavito – flute
Adam Starkie – clarinet
Emily Yabe – violin
Céline Papion – cello
Christian Lozano Sedano – electric guitar
Finbar Hosie – electronics
NOV 24, 2024 (SUN) · 7pm - 8pm · Wortham Theatre, Houston, TX.
A composition portrait recital featuring audio-visual immersion, poetry, and an art installation. This interdisciplinary performance is supported by Chapman Welch on electronics.
wasteland iii - aquaphony · for violin and electronics (2023) 8’30”
Paul Mortilla, violin
through the mirage on warm sands slipped a passage of time · for acoustic guitar solo (2024) 8’00”
Marc Rosenberg, acoustic guitar
wasteland ii - here is no water but rock…/if there were water · for oboe and electronics (2023) 8’40”
Anne Pinkerton, oboe
cascading traces… of layered time · for string quartet (2023) 6’30”
Byeol Claire Kim, violin I
Fiona Shea, violin II
Ho Fei Ng, viola
Ben Rodriguez, cello
sky ∞ space · for argus (original ceramic flute) and electronics (2024) 6’00”
Sing-Yat Betty Chen, argus (original ceramic flute) by Vica Pacheco
through the fractured wake of that long forgotten pipedream · for electric guitar solo (2024) 7’30”
Aisling Ma, electric guitar
wasteland iv - nirvana · for viola and electronics (2024) 10’10”
Nicholas Lindell, viola
JUL 26, 2024 (FRI) · 9:45pm - 10:30pm · The Room, FREESPACE, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong
Led by Vica Pacheco, a performance of group improvisation on sounds and body movements using Vica’s original ceramic instruments, assisted by choreographer Chin Ching Chui, partnered with Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong as part of the Freespace Noise Fest.
JUL 27-29, 2023 · Mass MoCA · North Adams, Massachusetts
A series of performances as a pianist/keyboardist of Bang on a Can Summer Festival Fellow 2023.
- Orchestra of Original Instruments, Thu, Jul 27 10:30pm (15′)
  - Bang on a Can Summer Festival Fellows 2023
    Mark Stewart, director
- Andriessen & Akiho, Fri, Jul 28 4:30pm
  - Louis Andriessen, De Snelheid (18’) arr. James Polk
    Ken Thomson, conductor
    Abrielle Scott, alto flute
    Anne Pinkerton, oboe
    Maya Stone, bassoon
    Lucas Nunes Gianini, clarinet
    Kathryn Vetter, bass clarinet
    Laura J. Martínez, alto saxophone
    William Pyle, alto saxophone
    Jacob Nance, alto saxophone
    David Cossin, temple blocks
    Dylan Ofrias, temple blocks
    Luciano Medina, percussion
    Madeline Hildebrand, keyboard
    Vicky Chow, keyboard
    Sing-Yat Betty Chen, keyboard
    Iwo Jedynecki, accordion
    Mark Stewart, electric guitar
    Pete Harden, electric guitar
    JP Bernabe, electric bass
    Claire Litwinowicz, violin
- Spotlight on Joan Tower, Fri, Jul 28 8:00pm
  - Joan Tower, Into the Night (15’)
    Abrielle Scott, flute and piccolo
    Lucas Nunes Gianini, clarinet
    Elicia Neo, violin
    Nick Photinos, cello
    Sing-Yat Betty Chen, piano
    Luciano Medina, vibraphone
- Spotlight on David Sanford, Fri, Jul 28 10:30pm
  - David Sanford, Long Time Coming (20’)
    Laura J. Martínez, alto saxophone
    Sing-Yat Betty Chen, piano
    Elizabeth Kate Hall-Keough, cello
    Gregg August, double bass
- Newest Voices World Premiere Concert II, Sat, Jul 29 12:00pm (40’)
  - Bobby Ge, OF A FEATHER
  - Lucy McKnight, Coyote Hill
  - Jacob Ridderberg, Swallow
  - Celka Ojakangas, all creatures small and LOUD
    Todd Reynolds, conductor
    Abrielle Scott, flute and piccolo
    Anne Pinkerton, oboe
    Lucas Nunes Gianini, clarinet and bass clarinet
    Maya Stone, bassoon
    William Pyle, soprano and alto saxophone
    Ethan Strickland, percussion
    Sing-Yat Betty Chen, piano
    Claire Litwinowicz, violin
    Santiago Velo Quintairos, viola
    Elizabeth Kate Hall-Keough, cello
    JP Bernabe, double bass
- Adrian Knight Twinlings, Sat, Jul 29 2:00pm (18’)
  - Sing-Yat Betty Chen, keyboard
    Madeline Hildebrand, keyboard

selected COMPOSITIONS

cHRONOTOPE_[ ]

a series of chamber works

SHATTERED SKY/REMAINING LAND

for large orchestra

TO TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT IT LEFT

for string orchestra

waste-land sequentia

a series of solo- electroacoustic compositions

cascading trances… of layered time

for string quartet and film

Oscillation~

for sinfonietta

through the fractured wake of that long forgotten pipedream

for electric guitar solo

through the mirage on warm sands slipped a passage of time

for acoustic guitar solo

Black and white abstract illustration of sing-yat's name in Chinese characters.

show all

PERFORMANCES

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Contact

For inquiries about collaborations, performances, or lessons in piano, composition, or music theory, please fill out the form below. I’d love to hear from you and explore new creative possibilities together!

Alternatively, you can reach me directly at singyat.musik@gmail.com.