Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, Bang Hean’s teachers in Malaysia include Serena Chow and Rickie Oui. He was the winner of the First National Mozart Piano Competition in 1987, and two years later a scholarship from the music examination board, ABRSM enabled him to study at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London.
In England Bang Hean studied with Yonty Solomon, John Blakely and Dennis Lee. He won numerous prizes at the RCM and upon graduating received awards from the Anthony Saltmarsh Prize and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust to enable him to embark on postgraduate studies with the Hungarian teacher Professor Ilonka Deckers in Milan, Italy.
Since his return to Malaysia Bang Hean has made regular appearances in solo recitals, chamber concerts as well as concerto performances. He has appeared in most major concert venues in Malaysia, and featured as a soloist with many of the local orchestras. An active chamber musician, he collaborates frequently with various instrumentalists and vocalists, and is a frequent guest player at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra’s chamber concert series. He is also one of the founding members of the Sutera Ensemble, a chamber music group aimed at bringing chamber music to a wider audience. Apart from Malaysia, Bang Hean has performed in England, Italy, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Korea.
As an educator, Bang Hean lectures at the Institute of Music, UCSI University and has been invited to adjudicate, examine, conduct masterclasses and hold seminars and workshops in various countries around this region.