Sanya Eng

Sanya Eng is one of Canada’s most sought-after harpists of her generation, equally celebrated as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. A dynamic and sensitive performer, she has been described as “an outstanding musical talent” (Jerusalem Post), “remarkably polished” (Globe and Mail) and “dazzling with her delicate and intense command of the harp” (Musical Toronto).

She has been a featured soloist in many festivals and concert series throughout North America, Europe, Israel, Asia, and Africa. As an active chamber and orchestral musician, she performs regularly with ensembles such as the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Continuum, New Music Concerts, and Soundstreams.

Sanya is passionately dedicated to New Music and has personally commissioned and premiered countless works by both Canadian and international composers. She has recorded for Naxos, Centrediscs, CBC Records, Canadian Art Song Project, hatART, ClassXdiscs, and Orange Mountain Music.

Most recently, in collaboration with internationally renowned erhu player Patty Chan, Sanya co-founded PhoeNX Ensemble, a new cross-cultural mixed chamber ensemble pairing East Asian and Western instruments. Based in Toronto, Canada, the vision of PhoeNX Ensemble is to explore, promote, and expand the East/West mixed-musical medium through performances, educational workshops, commissioning, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Each concert has an arc of experience.  Programmes are based upon compelling stories of true history, traditional mythology, or tales of life-lessons learned through fables.  With music ranging from time-honoured, Eastern-oriented classics to freshly commissioned contemporary new music, the audience is treated to a journey across cultures, languages, borders, and time…. and ultimately: a journey of hope and inspiration.