Every last Sunday of the month, Between the Bars brings you an intimate workshop where we gather in unique venues to create casual and interactive opportunities to learn more about music. Paired with a curated selection of wine and light refreshments, each month features a different theme and artists who bring music, stories, and ideas to the conversation. All workshops are specially curated for people from all backgrounds to learn, share, and connect.
As we come to the close of AAPI Heritage Month this May, we are thrilled to welcome Cheeyang Ng to the Between the Bars series. Join us for a special evening of music, storytelling, and conversation celebrating Asian American voices and artistry.
Cheeyang Ng (they/them) is a Fred Ebb, Princess Grace, and Jonathan Larson Award-winning singer-songwriter born and raised in Singapore. As a queer Asian immigrant and the first in their family to pursue the arts or leave their home country, Cheeyang creates work that sits at the intersection of personal history and public reckoning—exploring how music can carry stories across borders, languages, and generations.
Their work blends Western musical theatre with Chinese folk traditions, Mandopop, and South and Southeast Asian musical influences, creating a sound that challenges what belongs on global stages. Cheeyang’s musical MĀYĀ, co-written with Eric Sorrels, asks urgent questions about civic responsibility and artistic survival: "Can one person change the world? Where does art meet activism when the world is falling apart?" These are questions central to their practice.
Whether reimagining what it means to be Asian in America in EASTBOUND (with Khiyon Hursey), tracing myth and grief in LEGENDARY, or exploring memory and monument in ECHOES IN THE GHOST FOREST, Cheeyang’s work centers voices that have long lived in the margins—queer, Asian, immigrant—and positions musical theatre as a vehicle for both justice and joy. Other works in development include: THE PHOENIX (with Desdemona Chiang and Eric Sorrels), QUEERING THE CANON (with Eric Sorrels).
They have performed around the world, from Carnegie Hall with Jason Robert Brown to Lincoln Center with Carole King, and are the first Singaporean to headline concerts at both Joe’s Pub and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. Their songs have been performed across the U.S. and Asia. Cheeyang also created the podcast East Side Story and founded The Lunar Collective, uplifting Asian voices in musical theatre.
As a screenwriter, pilots include AFTER LIFE (Coverfly Red List; Screencraft Sci-Fi Semifinalist), THE SONG OF THE YUAN WARRIOR, and THE O WORD.
Cheeyang Ng will be joined by Katie James on keyboard for this event.
General Admission: $20 (Wine and snack will be served)
Free for NACMS Members