Chan Choon Seng graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and is currently serving in the public sector. He joined Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Chinese Orchestra in 1967, and performed several pieces with the orchestra, such as Hua Mu Lan, The Sisters from the Plain, The Butterfly Lovers, Song of Pipa, Listening to the Rain.

Chan studied sanxian under the tutelage of Li Yi, and pipa under the tutelage of several masters, including Wei Zhong Yue, Lin Shi Cheng, Liu De Hai and Zhou Li Juan. He came in first in the Open Category for the National Music Competition (Singapore) in 1988. In 1989, he was awarded a Special Performance Award in the Chinese Instrument ART Cup International Music Competition for Pipa, in the Non-Professional Youth Category. In 1985, he took part in an exchange programme for Pipa practitioners, organised by the National Tertiary Music Institutions in Kunming, China.