SOAS has recently updated Cheng Yu’s biography, reflecting her long-standing work across performance, research, teaching and public cultural engagement. From completing her PhD in Ethnomusicology at SOAS in 2004 to her current role as Professor of Practice, her relationship with the institution has continued to grow through both artistic and academic practice.
Before moving to the UK, Cheng Yu was a pipa soloist with China’s National Orchestra. Since then, she has performed internationally, released more than a dozen CDs, and collaborated with leading artists and ensembles. Alongside her performing career, she has remained deeply committed to developing Chinese music through teaching, festival direction, yaji gatherings, and research-led projects including the revival of the five-string pipa and the recent Lutes of the Silk Road project, premiered at SOAS in 2024.
Her work at SOAS reflects a continuing commitment to connecting tradition, innovation and community — creating spaces where Chinese music can be studied, performed and shared with wider audiences in the UK and beyond.
