ABOUT

James Cheung is a pianist specializing in song and chamber music, performing internationally with many of the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists.

He is Professor of Ensemble Piano and a vocal coach at the Royal Academy of Music and teaches song interpretation at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munich. In addition to these roles, he regularly gives masterclasses at institutions and festivals worldwide, including The Banff Centre in Canada, AlpenKammerMusik in Austria, and Schloss Elmau.

James has appeared in recital with singers including Christian Gerhaher, Ian Bostridge, Gerald Finley, Joan Rogers, Elizabeth Watts, Elliot Madore, Marcus Farnsworth, Ruby Hughes, Sibylla Rubens, Martin Mitterrutzner, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, and Benjamin Appl. He has performed at major venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Düsseldorf Tonhalle, Camerata Musica Cambridge, Oxford Lieder Festival, The Banff Centre, St John’s Smith Square, and the Royal Opera House, with live broadcasts on BBC television and radio. He has also performed at festivals including Southwell, Aldeburgh, and Aix-en-Provence.

For his contribution to Christian Gerhaher’s complete recording of Schumann’s songs, released by Sony, James was presented with the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award”).

As a chamber musician, James has performed piano duets with Gerold Huber and frequently collaborates with violinist Agata Daraskaite, alongside many other instrumentalists and ensembles.

He was taught by Denise Erlandsen before attending the Royal College of Music Junior Department, where he studied with Aaron Shorr. He later studied under Tatiana Sarkissova at the Royal Academy of Music before continuing his postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatoire with Alexander Mndojants and Alexander Bonduriansky. He was also a regular participant in the Britten-Pears Programme in Aldeburgh.