Most classical-music lovers derive pleasure by attending performances of their favourite works. Some dream of making music themselves. They might learn to play an instrument as a sideline in their spare time. Those with the talent and the dedication may well go on to become professional musicians.
Then there’s the rare bird, someone like Mandle Cheung, a Hong Kong-born naturalized Canadian, who made a fortune as a tech entrepreneur. He’s also a lifelong music lover, having fallen for classical music after hearing the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto at the age of 13. He joined his high school’s harmonica band and even performed as soloist in Arthur Benjamin’s harmonica concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra back in 1971. His ultimate goal? He set his sights on conducting a symphony orchestra.
An impossible dream for someone without formal training? Well, Cheung has managed to make it come true, as a self-taught conductor: “I knew one violinist and one pianist,” he says, adding: “They got together 25 musicians. They played Mahler First, and I learned how to read the orchestra score. I had the violinist playing and the pianist turned the pages for me.”
He formed his own orchestra, the Mandle Philharmonic, made up of professional musicians who play for other orchestras such as those of National Ballet of Canada and Canadian Opera Company. The Mandle Philharmonic gave its inaugural concert back in 2018. His troupe has since given 18 concerts, with more on the horizon. The businessman’s wealth allows him to finance the orchestra.
Even more daring is Cheung approaching established, well-known orchestras like the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, proposing a fee-for-service type of arrangement. The TSO accepted his proposal, and it’s no secret that the fee for that single performance in June 2025 came to something like $400,000. London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has been similarly engaged for an undisclosed fee.
I was in the audience for that TSO performance. I attended out of my love for Mahler, but also out of curiosity, having read about Cheung’s self-taught conducting background. At the time I wrote: “There were some raised eyebrows in the days before from some quarters over the way this concert was organized. …Comments about Cheung, mostly negative, proved to be unfounded, based on his showing last evening. I feel it was a truly wonderful performance.”
I admit that at the time I was swept up by the wonderful sounds from the stage, and the incredible audience reception. I did find Cheung’s persona to be quite understated, without any overt communications with the players that I could see from my vantage point. He didn’t cue the players as most maestros typically do.
In anticipation of a late May concert in Toronto with his orchestra performing Mahler 2, I arranged to have a chat with Cheung. I sat in on a rehearsal beforehand with his own orchestra, and he appeared to be more relaxed than with the TSO but, overall, his conducting manner remains rather understated. When we met afterwards for our chat, I found him friendly, cordial and down to earth.
An obvious question to ask was what drew him into conducting, a very daunting proposition for an amateur. His reply was: “It’s all in the genes!” He attributes his musical journey to a sort of genetic predetermination, a somewhat surprising answer given he comes from a very large family, and none are involved in music. Cheung certainly didn’t get his inspiration growing up in Hong Kong. As someone with a similar background, I can honestly say that in the vast majority of Chinese families in capitalist Hong Kong, where money is king, music as a profession would be considered far from desirable.
Given that Cheung is untrained, there were a lot of negative comments—mostly in the press—along the lines of “he has a lot of nerve” and “talk about chutzpah!” How does he deal with the mean-spirited comments from people? “People always have opinions; can’t do anything about that,” he says.
For someone without formal training, it’s all the more remarkable that he chooses some of the most complex works to tackle, such as the Mahler symphonies. He calls the Mahler Second “volcanic” and the Mahler Eighth the “Himalayas of Symphonies.” His fearlessness made me wonder about the source of his inspiration.
What about role models? Musicians who might have inspired him? The only name he gave me is the great Austrian conductor, Herbert von Karajan, whom he never met and didn’t manage to hear conducting live. Anyone he knows personally who has inspired him? “No, I know very few people…” I have to say I was quite surprised by his answers. Mandle Cheung is indeed a self-made success. Perhaps he’s right, it’s all in his genes! Is he a work in progress? The real deal? Audiences will have a chance to judge for themselves at one of the conductor’s upcoming performances. ”
Mandle Cheung conducts the Mandle Philharmonic at Toronto’s RBC Amphitheatre on July 24, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London (U.K.)’s Alexandra Palace on Aug. 21. www.mandlephil.com
