Toro Cheng started to play the piano when he was 7 years old. After learning the instrument for 13 years classically, he decided to pursue music as his career and studied at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang for his Bachelor of Music in Pedagogy and Performance. After his graduation, Toro started to teach music and gig around his hometown Kuala Lumpur for 2 years. He then went to the United States and studied at West Virginia University for his Master of Music in Jazz Pedagogy with an assistantship. As a graduate teaching assistant, Toro gained the experience of teaching various courses at WVU, such as: jazz improvisation, conducting big band and small jazz ensembles. He graduated with a 3.75 CGPA. Ever since his return to Malaysia, Toro has been busy gigging and teaching music at UCSI as an adjunct lecturer.
He has performed with international and local artists such as Bobby Chen（陈升）, Gina Panizales, Jasmine Chen（陈胤希）, Matthew Sayersz, Chew Paul Wah（周博华）, Candy Cheah（谢婉婷）, Crystal Ong（王雪晶）, Vanessa Tan, Vince Chong, Reno （蕾诺） and Winnie Ho（何芸妮）. Toro is not a stranger for local music scene too with the experiences of performing at local music clubs such as No Black Tie, Alexis, NeroFico, Hakka Republic, the Venue, Backyard, Circus, Rockafellas, Estate, Mezze Lounge and Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro. His performance highlights include performed at World Youth Jazz Festival 2013 as the Azmi Hairudin’s Agreement with Matthew Sayersz, performed in “Live Blues & Jazz 2013” three-night concert at MaTiC (Malaysia Tourism Centre) as the Lewis Pragasam’s Asiabeat and performed as first keyboardist in Malaysian Music Countdown Concert《用马来西亚的天气来说爱你》跨年演唱会2013 organized by Astro本地圈 at Padang Majlis Perbandaran Seremban. Toro released his debut album, “Pianistic Wolverine” in 2014. The album includes 9 originals and 2 covers.
Institute of Music, UCSI University 