Wendy Yau Sum Cheung is an award-winning composer, musical director and real estate investor. She donated $20,000 to Capilano University in 2017 to support students studying music. On November 29, she will be debuting an orchestral charity concert called ‘Senses,’ which weaves all five senses into one cathartic emotional journey.
Benjamin Kimberley (he/him) // Contributor
Alisa Nguyen (she/her) // Illustrator
A Brief History of Wendy
When she was a toddling youngster, Cheung’s compositional aspirations were spurred by the tunes of legendary songwriter Joseph Koo. She would go on to study composition at CapU and University of British Columbia (UBC). After graduating she founded Live A B Life, a feel-good entertainment company, before moving to Hong Kong to write hits for pop stars. In 2018 she created Seasons, a Broadway-like musical featuring a magician. Cheung eventually caught the attention of Joseph Koo at a songwriting competition, and came to consider him a mentor. “He passed away a few years ago,” she says, “and I have his piano right here in the living room: a white Yamaha grand. He signed it.”
Cheung also went into business, seeking the financial freedom to make whatever art she wanted. This tall order turned out to be a breeze; in the year and a half ‘Senses’ has taken to put together, Cheung swears she “could’ve done 10 businesses already.” While at UBC, Wendy founded the Mozart School of Music. In 2005, she dove into real estate, buying and selling at a profit. She went on to co-found Peak Performance Investments, Alture Properties and later Empiro Capital. According to the Empiro Capital website, her portfolio is currently worth over $100 million.
Senses
‘Senses’ takes the audience on an immersive emotional journey, and allows them to tap into an untouched part of themselves. Perhaps, it would help to think of it as your favourite movie, but with the story removed and the emotions directly injected into your brain. It aspires to bring forth the emotions you have within, and let you experience them surrounded by sound, colour, smell, touch and taste.
Sound is supplied by the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra; Cheung wistfully recounts that her compositions “come to life, and it’s almost a heaven.” Touch is found in a notebook given to each attendee, in which they may write or doodle. To entertain the eyes, evocative images dance upon an LED screen. Cheung wants to leave smell and taste “as surprises for the show” so no spoilers here. The concert also includes guided breath work; music therapist and former CapU instructor Dr. Alpha Woodward was brought on board to offer therapeutic expertise.
With her mother working and her father sleeping, Cheung found solace in the piano. “Through the instrument, I was able to tap into parts of my emotion,” she says. This therapeutic introspection is the emotional core of her work, and what she aims to evoke in ‘Senses.’ All proceeds from ‘Senses’ are donated to HeadsUpGuys, a nonprofit in support of men’s mental health. The impetus for this charity, and the emotional core of the concert, is Cheung’s experience with her father. “I grew up with a father who was sort of an absentee dad to me, emotionally and mentally,” she admits. “He was trying very hard to cope with what he was going through.” She tried to help, but didn’t know where to start; she was left hopeless and out of her depth. Her mother was left to pick up the slack and raise three kids.
Through all her work, Cheung aspires to leave something meaningful behind in the world. We are surrounded by the work of classical composers from years ago: a good piece, Cheung says, “never goes out of style.” Whether we are musicians or accountants, we all struggle against time to make our one true beautiful thing. Cheung asks, “What have you done that makes your one hour last forever?” “How can you make it impact somebody, so that person can impact another person?” Cheung is working towards her beautiful thing, spending her hours writing music and crafting experiences, giving her audience permission to feel, to be transported and to find their own release.