معرفی
Ngek Chum serves as Adjunct Faculty in Towson University's Department of Music within the College of Fine Arts and Communication, where he preserves and teaches Khmer traditional music traditions as one of the few living global masters of this heritage.
His musical education began at age ten through apprenticeships in Battambang Province, Cambodia, first under his grandfather Um Hieng and later with Master Chou Nit, mastering sacred repertoires within a year by age twelve despite initial familial resistance to his professional musical path.
Chum's research centers on endangered Cambodian musical preservation, specializing in multi-instrument performance across genres including sacred and classical Khmer traditions. His work emphasizes pedagogical transmission of intangible cultural heritage through hands-on apprenticeship models.
Major recognitions include:
- Bess Lomax Hawes Award (NEA National Heritage Fellowship, 2004)
- Maryland State Arts Council Honors
- Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Honors
As an educator, Chum has mentored generations of musicians in Cambodia and the U.S., notably performing professionally from age eighteen, leading ensembles nationwide, and representing Battambang Province at Phnom Penh's Royal University of Fine Arts in 1974. His preservation grants and cultural advocacy bridge historical traditions with contemporary academic settings.
He directs musicofcambodia.org, actively sustaining Khmer musical ecosystems through performance, documentation, and cross-generational teaching.
