Immigrant musicians often navigate complex identity formations as they engage in music learning across both formal and informal contexts (Adorno, 2025; Gerrard et al., 2025; Isbell & Stanley, 2016; Regus, 2025; Regus & Satterfield, 2023). Studies on intercultural music education emphasize the role of bi-musicality, transmusicality, and dialogical musicality in fostering growth, while also illustrating the tensions and adaptations required when engaging across distinct musical traditions (Avis, 2019; Biernoff & Blom, 2002; Deschênes, 2018; Haddon, 2016; Kang, in-press, 2025). Since the 1990s, the number of Chinese students studying Western music in the United States has increased significantly (Zhang, 2023). As they transition into new sociocultural environments, these musicians face tensions between maintaining ethnic heritage and integrating into dominant Western culture (Kang & Lee, in press). Music becomes a vital medium through which immigrant musicians explore, negotiate, and express identity to connect past and present cultural experiences (Karlsen, 2013). However, much less is known about adult immigrant musicians who participate in community ensembles, where they engage with traditional music from their homeland. The purpose of this multiple case study is to examine the experiences of Chinese immigrant musicians trained in Western instruments who engage with their ethnic musical cultures through Chinese ensemble participation in the U.S. This study focuses on the Rochester Chinese Ensemble, a community-based nonprofit organization of students and local musicians dedicated to promoting Chinese culture through traditional music. It addresses a gap in the literature regarding adult immigrant musicians who, while trained in Western classical music, reconnect with their ethnic heritage through community-based ensembles, which hold deep cultural and social significance outside formal institutions.Participants include three Chinese immigrant musicians who majored in Western classical instruments but also perform Chinese traditional instruments in the Rochester Chinese Ensemble. Data were collected through open-ended semi-structured interviews (about one hour each), supplemented by informal conversations and researcher field notes. Interviews were conducted primarily in English, with Mandarin as needed. Interview questions, adapted from Kang (in press), focused on musical background, adaptation across traditions, and identity negotiation. This study has important implications for music educators in classrooms and community settings. By examining how Western-trained Chinese immigrant musicians adapt their skills when performing in traditional ensembles, the research highlights strategies of musical transfer and identity negotiation. Findings will encourage educators to support bi-musical and transmusical learning, validate students’ intercultural identities, and foster inclusive ensemble practices.