Hello, my name is Ben Kwong. I live in Montréal, Québec, Canada, play piano, love food, biking, and dancing Argentine tango.

I am a collaborative pianist and vocal coach at McGill University. I have extensive experience in opera, classical, musical theatre, and pop. My work is focused primarily with singers and choirs, though I have many years experience with other instrumental repertoire, including classical double bass, trumpet and tuba.

Sometimes, I wave my arms around as music director; most recently with the Côte St. Luc Dramatic Society for its 2019 META award winning production of Cabaret. I have self-produced operas and other performances with a little company my friends and I created, Opera da Camera, including chamber arrangements of full productions of Nozze di Figaro, Cendrillon, and Così fan tutte. You can check out my full CV here.

Vocal Coaching Philosophy

My philosophy in vocal coaching rests in using text work in inspire musical ideas, and exploring ways of physicalizing music through movement and breath to bring music more "in the body."

Rehearsal & performance tracks

I can create custom piano tracks for rehearsal and performance.

• I record using piano virtual instrument to produce accurate tracks.
• With submitted a cappella recordings, tracks can be customized to individual tempo and rubato, including recitativo and cadenzas passages. Additional elements can be added easily, such as a metronome click track, synthesized vocal lines, or even a drum track.
• Custom reverb can be added to tracks to more closely match the acoustic of the space you're recording in for final mixing.
• All preparation and collaboration can occur online.

Typesetting

• I have an interest in music typesetting, and have contributed a few scores to IMSLP, and several volumes of Armenian vocal music. I primarily use Dorico and Lilypond.