Fanny Chung

Fanny Ming-yan CHUNG is an Assistant Professor of the B.A. Programme in Cultural Management, in the field of music and arts management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She holds doctoral and master’s degrees in music from the University of Bristol (the UK) and the Hong Kong Baptist University, respectively and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba (Canada). Aligning with the interdisciplinary nature of cultural management, her scholarly interests are interdisciplinary, focusing on the interlinked areas of cultural management and musicology. Her broader research interests include Cantonese opera as an intangible cultural heritage (ICH), Cantonese opera and technology, music management, music and society, music in early years, and outreach and education in performing arts.

Recently, Chung has published two single-authored research monographs in 2022 and 2023. Her new book, entitled Music and Play in Early Childhood Education: Teaching Music in Hong Kong, China and the World, provides critical insights into the interplay of cultural policy and educational practices by elucidating the trajectory of early childhood music education system, explicitly problematizing the theoretical foundations of policies such as play-based learning (PBL) and values education in early childhood through music in Hong Kong, China and across the globe. Grounded from her extensive empirical-based research, the book makes a theoretical and practical contribution by offering a new conceptual model of music teacher education within a globally resonant framework.

Chung’s another recently published book Transmission of Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis (a research output of the funded research project awarded by the Hong Kong SAR government) critically examines the interconnection of public health crisis, heritagization, and transmission of Cantonese opera. This book contributes to an in-depth understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the Cantonese opera industry through extensive fieldwork, documentary analysis, and interviews with 68 Cantonese opera practitioners. Through an extensive study that spanned almost three years amidst the pandemic outbreak, the scholarly research presented in this book makes evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders regarding policymaking, transmission, and future development of Cantonese opera.

Chung’s other recent publications look at cultural development related to Chinese theatre arts, outreach and audience-building in performing arts institutions, and music in early years. A recent journal article "Utilizing Technology as a Transmission Strategy in Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Case of Cantonese Opera" contributes to cultural heritage literature by shedding new light on audience reach, content enhancement, value creation, and funding strategies in the context of technology adoption. One journal article “Safeguarding Traditional Theatre Amid Trauma: Career Shock Among Cultural Heritage Professionals in Cantonese Opera” contributes to the literature on cultural transmission by examining the impact of social mobilization, paradigm shifts in tradition, and career crises on safeguarding Cantonese opera amidst trauma. Another recent journal article “Translating Culture-Bound Elements: A Case Study of Traditional Chinese Theatre in the Socio-Cultural Context of Hong Kong” examines the phenomenon of cultural heritage transmission through the lens of translation of Chinese theatre arts in the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong. The journal article “Developing Audiences Through Outreach and Education in the Major Performing Arts Institutions in Hong Kong: Towards a Conceptual Framework” uncovers the interplay of outreach and audience-building in non-profit performing arts institutions with the global cultural landscape. Another recent journal article “The Impact of Music Pedagogy Education on Early Childhood Teachers’ Self-Efficacy in Teaching Music: A Study of Music Teacher Education Program” investigates how the development of teacher self-efficacy as theorized by the social cognitive model co-relates with the framework of music teacher education for formal institutional settings, in light of the local, national and international cultural and education policy.

Currently, Chung is working on three funded research projects, including the project on investigating the implementation of education policy in music awarded by General Research Grant (GRF) of Research Grant Council (RGC); the research project on examining the transmission of Cantonese opera amidst global health crisis awarded by the Lord Wilson Heritage Fund (LWHF) of the Hong Kong SAR government; and the research project exploring the mediation of traditions and globalized modernity through the lens of technology adoption in the preservation of Cantonese opera, awarded by the Research Direct Grant of Faculty of Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Apart from research, Chung greatly enjoys her teaching. She has been the awardee of "Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teaching Award" twice, in 2018 and 2021, by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received the University Grants Committee (UGC)’s Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant (TDLEG) for her project “Promoting Peer Learning through Digital Exhibition for Cultural Management Programme”, aiming to facilitate a culturally-entrenched and stimulating learning environment with a peer-learning approach. Chung’s teaching accomplishments have been recognized by CUHK's teacher training unit, the Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research (CLEAR). In 2022, she was invited by CLEAR to share her teaching experience and pedagogical strategies, which was published on Moodle as part of the university's teacher training programme (Module: Fostering Student Engagement).