Hippocrates Cheng 鄭靖楠

Composer I Researcher I Performer

Welcome to my temporary, one-page website!

I’m Hippocrates Cheng—a composer, researcher, and performer based primarily in New York and Hong Kong, and occasionally in Toronto and Berlin. Since August 2024, I have served as an Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Binghamton University, where I am also affiliated with the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies.

As a composer, I write contemporary classical music, new music for Asian instruments, and jazz. As a researcher, I research contemporary classical music, the works of Hong Kong composer Doming Lam, traditional and contemporary East Asian music, piano rolls and player pianos in early jazz history, and Braille music notation. I have conducted fieldwork in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam over multiple summers. As a performer, I perform overtone singing and piano. As a curator and director, I have organized over 50 concerts and workshops, and directed ensembles in both Hong Kong and the United States.

In 2024, I received my Doctor of Music in Composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, with a minor in ethnomusicology, earning commendation for my oral examination. Prior to my studies in the United States, I completed a Master of Music in Composition with Distinction at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and I earned my Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Music from Hong Kong Baptist University. My composition teachers include Don Freund, David Dzubay, Eugene O’Brien, Aaron Travers, Clarence Mak, and Christopher Coleman.

The full version of this website will be available by the end of 2025. In the meantime, you’ll find a brief overview of my compositions, research, and ongoing projects below. For inquiries, feel free to contact me at hippocratescheng.music@gmail.com. Stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Upcoming Events

Apr. 19, 2026. Composition recital of my works for East Asian Instruments 
East Asian Music in the Contemporary World. 
Binghamton University, USA

Nov. 26, 2025. Composition recital of my works for East Asian Instruments 
East Asian Music in the Contemporary World. 
University of Toronto, Canada 

Nov. 21, 2025. Composition recital of my works for East Asian Instruments 
East Asian Music in the Contemporary World 
Northern Illinois University, USA

Nov. 18, 2025. Premiere of a dizi solo piece commissioned by Hong-Da Chin
To be decided 
Western Illinois University, USA

Nov. 17, 2025. Guest Composition Lecture
To be decided
Western Illinois University, USA

Nov. 12, 2025. Composition recital of my piano music
To be decided
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, USA

Nov. 6-9, 2025. Conference presentation
2025 AMS-SMT Joint Annual Meeting
Minneapolis, USA 

Oct. 15-18, 2025. Conference presentation 
The 59th Oral History Association Annual Meeting
Atlanta, USA

Oct. 11-14, 2025. Conference presentation 
Analytical Approaches to World Musics Special Topics Symposium 2025
Cornell University, USA

Oct. 3-4, 2025. Conference presentation 
New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS)
SUNY Brockport, USA

Oct. 1-3, 2025. Conference Presentation 
Fleeting Voices. Preserving Acoustic Heritage in the Archives and the Arts
University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria 

Composition

  • Composition list
  • Recordings
  • On-going projects
    • East Asian Music in the Contemporary World—a composition recital featuring Hippocrates Cheng’s music for East Asian Instruments  

Research

  • Research interests
    • Contemporary classical music
    • Music of Hong Kong composer Doming Lam
    • Traditional and contemporary East Asian music
    • Piano rolls and player piano in early Jazz history 
    • Braille music notation

  • In-progress publications
    • ‘HongKongess in 20th century American Popular Music’ for ‘Modeling Popular Music Analysis, the second volume.’ Published by Oxford University Press (under review).
    • ‘The Integration and Influence of Arnold Schönberg’s Twelve-tone method in Jazz Compositions.’ Published by Journal of the Arnold Schönberg Center (under contract).

  • On-going research projects
    • East Asian Music in the Contemporary World 
    • Harvey Roehl, the first American Collector of Mechanical Instruments
    • Doming Lam’s innovation and breakthrough in Chinese Orchestral Music
    • Arnold Schönberg’s notational style throughout his life
    • J. Lawrence Cook and player pianos
  • Conference presentations
    • AMS-SMT Joint Annual Meeting (2025) – Minneapolis, USA
    • AMS Teaching Music History Conference (2025) – New York University, USA
    • IAML Congress (2025) – Mozarteum University Salzburg, Austria
    • American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) Meeting (2025) – Georgia Southern University, USA
    • CAML Conference (2025) – Canada
    • MIDSEM Annual Meeting (2025) – Northern Illinois University, USA
    • Joint AMSGNY/MACSEM Meeting (2025) – New York University, USA
    • CHINOPERL Conference (2025) – Greater Columbus Convention Center, USA
    • ICTMD Study Group on Musical Instruments Symposium (25th) (2025) – New York Institute for the Humanities and Social Studies, USA
    • Digging Schönberg – Approaches in Popular Musics (2025) – Arnold Schönberg Center and University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
    • ICTM Study Group on Sources and Archives for Music and Sound Studies Symposium (25th) (2025) – Humboldt Forum and Humboldt University, Germany
    • Korea Music Conference “Sustainability” (2025) – Roosevelt University, USA
    • Music, Musicology and Academic Responsibilities in the 21st Century (2025) – University College Dublin, Ireland
    • IAML Congress (2024) – Stellenbosch University, South Africa
    • AMIS Meeting (2024) – Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
    • APME National Conference (2024) – University of Southern California, USA
    • Graduate Students in Music (GSIM) Conference (27th Annual) (2024) – CUNY Graduate Center, USA
    • The Phin Pia and Contemporary Lanna Culture (2024) – Chiang Mai University, Thailand
    • MuGSA Research Symposium “Music and Language” (2023) – University at Buffalo, USA
    • Korea Music Conference “Thrive: Korean Music for Empowerment and Unity” (2023) – Roosevelt University, USA
    • The 3rd Altamira Hong Kong International Guitar Symposium (2018) – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong
    • The International Conference on Performing and Visual Arts (2018) – The University of Malaya, Malaysia
    • International Symposium on Practice-as-Research (ISPaR) (2017) – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong
    • Innovation in Performing Arts Education Symposium (IPAE) (2017) – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong

Selected awards, grants and scholarships

  • The Avenir Foundation Research Grant for a summer research residency at the Arnold Schönberg Center, Vienna, Austria (2025)
  • Binghamton University Projects for New Undergraduate Researchers (BUPNUR) Summer Research Grant, USA (2025)
  • Harpur High-Impact Student Learning Endowment Grant, USA (2025)
  • Data Sciences Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence (TAE) Seed Grant, USA (2025)
  • New Works Project Winner, The Center for the Performing Arts, USA (2024)
  • Visiting Scholarship at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany (2024)
  • Arts Impact Fellowship, West Kowloon Cultural District (2022)
  • Irving & Leno Lo Scholarship, Indiana University (2021–2022)
  • Won-Joon Yoon Scholarship, Indiana University (2020–2021)
  • With New Tunes, We Connect Award, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (2020)
  • Kids Compose Award, Indiana University (2020)
  • Assistantship in Music Theory, Indiana University (2020–2024)
  • Grant for Emerging Artists, Hong Kong Arts Development Council (2020)
  • Academy Creative Collaboration Project Fund, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (2019)
  • Young Music Makers Award, Radio Television Hong Kong (2018)
  • Best Interdisciplinary Project Award, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (2016–2017)
  • Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Scholarship (2017)
  • Muscious Society Composition Prize, Muscious Society (2017)
  • Third Prize, Hong Kong New Generation Composition Contest, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild (2017)

Services to the field

Guest lectures and masterclasses

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