Cheryl Ong

Cheryl Ong is a percussionist who is active in music performance and education and regularly performs with avant rock group, The Observatory. Though classically trained, she consistently struggles with the fact that classical music can be divisive and limited in form. Tired of being a mere technician, Ong has gone on to explore improvisational and experimental practices in recent years, hunting down new ideas and sounds.

Apart from her involvement with The Observatory, her recent performances include RATA: new grounds, new sounds with the RATA Orkestra (2022, Singapore); All Ears Festival (2020, Norway) with the Guro (Dyna)Moe Revolution Sextet; AngelicA Festival (2019, Bologna) in a duo with Vivian Wang; and Kombo at CTM Festival (2019, Berlin). Her solo composition »Hejira« was used in the closing credits of Singaporean filmmaker Yeo Siew Hua’s award-winning film, A Land Imagined. Cheryl Ong was also part of the curatorial team of Nusasonic, a project that aimed to strengthen ties between experimental music scenes in Southeast Asia and beyond.