Alan Cheng is an Ensemble Member and the Executive Director of Bridge Percussion. 

Originally from Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alan is currently a Chicago-based percussionist, educator, and mechanical engineer with a dynamic background bridging the worlds of music and engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from Northwestern University, where he also earned a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering (concentrating in Computer Engineering), along with a minor in Engineering Management. His primary musical mentors include She-e Wu, Christopher Lamb, Vadim Karpinos, Ed Stephan, Galen Lemmon, and Dr. Karl Chang (choral music). 

Alan currently teaches around 60 high school percussionists weekly in Chicago Public Schools, working with students in the 6 concert bands at Lincoln Park High School. Deeply passionate about STEAM education, he regularly presents percussion clinics, choral music activities, and engineering lectures throughout Chicagoland, at Northwestern University, and in the SF Bay Area.

Outside the classroom, Alan performs with orchestras and leads product development initiatives as a full-time Senior Mechanical Engineer. His work in electro-fluidic systems and electronics product design is matched by a commitment to mentoring the next generation—whether in the lab, in the office, on stage, or in the classroom.