Ray Chen
Encyclopedia
Ray Chen is a Taiwan
ese-Australia
n violin
ist. He was the first prize winner in the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
.
) in Queensland
, Australia
. Chen was invited to play solo with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. He was also invited to perform at the opening celebration concert of the 1998 Winter Olympics
in Nagano
, Japan
.
Ray Chen was chosen as Australia's 4MBS
's "Young Space Musician of the Year" in 1999. He was awarded the Sydney May Memorial Scholarship of the Australian Music Examinations Board
(AMEB) for being the youngest and most talented musician. Chen was awarded his Licentiate Diploma of Music with distinction by the AMEB at age 11. At age 13, he won first prize in the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition (NYCC), and in 2005 won first prize in the 2005 Australia National Kendall Violin Competition. Professor Goetz Richter, chair of the String Unit at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
has described Chen as "one of the most talented and accomplished young violinists to have emerged from Australia."
In April 2008 Chen won the senior division first prize of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists
in Cardiff
, Wales
. As winner of the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, Chen came to the attention of Maxim Vengerov
, who served on the competition jury. Subsequently, he was engaged for performances including debuts with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
in St. Petersburg and at the International Rostropovich Festival with the State Symphony Orchestra of Baku, Azerbaijan
, under the baton of Vengerov.
In the summers of 2006 and 2007, Chen attended the Encore School for Strings
, studying under David Cerone
at the Cleveland Institute of Music
. In 2008 he attended the Aspen Music Festival on a full tuition fellowship, studying with Cho-Liang Lin
(Juilliard) and Paul Kantor (Cleveland Institute of Music).
His violin teachers have included Kerry Smith (Queensland Conservatorium) and Professor Peter Zhang (Sydney Conservatorium). Currently Chen studies violin under Aaron Rosand
at the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia.
Chen was signed by Sony Classical in 2010.
in Brussels
, Belgium
, bringing him numerous concert engagements, a recording, and a three-year loan of the "Huggins" Stradivarius
from the Nippon Music Foundation
. He was the Competition's youngest participant. As Grand Prize Winner, he was immediately launched on a concert tour, performing with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (DeFilharmonie
) under Jaap van Zweden
and Aldert Vermeulen, the National Orchestra of Belgium
under Rumon Gamba
, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
under Emmanuel Krivine
, as well as in recitals throughout Belgium.
He is currently on the roster of Young Concert Artists
.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. He was the first prize winner in the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...
.
Biography
Chen began learning violin at the age of four. Within five years he completed all 10 levels of the Suzuki Music Education (Suzuki methodSuzuki method
The Suzuki method is a method of teaching music that emerged in the mid-20th century.-Background:The Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who desired to bring beauty to the lives of children in his country after the devastation of World War II...
) in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Chen was invited to play solo with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. He was also invited to perform at the opening celebration concert of the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in Nagano
Nagano, Nagano
, the capital city of Nagano Prefecture, is located in the northern part of the prefecture near the confluence of the Chikuma and the Sai rivers, on the main Japanese island of Honshū.As of April 1, 2011 the city has a population of 387,146...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Ray Chen was chosen as Australia's 4MBS
4MBS
4MBS Classic FM is a Brisbane community radio station that broadcasts classical music, jazz and nostalgia throughout South East Queensland. It is broadcast at a frequency of 103.7 MHz....
's "Young Space Musician of the Year" in 1999. He was awarded the Sydney May Memorial Scholarship of the Australian Music Examinations Board
Australian Music Examinations Board
The Australian Music Examinations Board is a privately funded corporation which assesses music, speech, and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne and Adelaide in 1887; the organisation now has a Federal Office in Melbourne, and offices in each...
(AMEB) for being the youngest and most talented musician. Chen was awarded his Licentiate Diploma of Music with distinction by the AMEB at age 11. At age 13, he won first prize in the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition (NYCC), and in 2005 won first prize in the 2005 Australia National Kendall Violin Competition. Professor Goetz Richter, chair of the String Unit at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
has described Chen as "one of the most talented and accomplished young violinists to have emerged from Australia."
In April 2008 Chen won the senior division first prize of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists
Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists
The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, mostly referred to only as the Menuhin Competition, is an international violin competition for young players under the age of 22, founded by Yehudi Menuhin...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. As winner of the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, Chen came to the attention of Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov is a violinist, violist, and conductor who was born in the Soviet Union.-Youth:Born on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to a family with musical tradition....
, who served on the competition jury. Subsequently, he was engaged for performances including debuts with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra or the Kirov Orchestra is located in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra was founded in 1783 during the reign of Peter the Great, it was known before the revolution as the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra...
in St. Petersburg and at the International Rostropovich Festival with the State Symphony Orchestra of Baku, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, under the baton of Vengerov.
In the summers of 2006 and 2007, Chen attended the Encore School for Strings
Encore School for Strings
Encore School for Strings, founded in 1985 by David and Linda Cerone, was the summer session of the Cleveland Institute of Music. It was located in Hudson, Ohio at the Western Reserve Academy. Encore had no minimum age requirement, though a taped audition was used to screen applicants. The music...
, studying under David Cerone
David Cerone
David Cerone was a co-founder of the ENCORE School for Strings, where he co-directed and served as faculty member since 1985. Mr. Cerone serves as a juror for many prominent national and international violin competitions and presents master classes around the world. An active chamber musician, he...
at the Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
. In 2008 he attended the Aspen Music Festival on a full tuition fellowship, studying with Cho-Liang Lin
Cho-Liang Lin
Cho-Liang Lin , born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is a Taiwanese American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras. "Musical America" named him its "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2000...
(Juilliard) and Paul Kantor (Cleveland Institute of Music).
His violin teachers have included Kerry Smith (Queensland Conservatorium) and Professor Peter Zhang (Sydney Conservatorium). Currently Chen studies violin under Aaron Rosand
Aaron Rosand
Aaron Rosand is an American violinist.Born in Hammond, Indiana, he studied with Leon Sametini at the Chicago Musical College and with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he has taught since 1981...
at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia.
Chen was signed by Sony Classical in 2010.
Career
Violinist Ray Chen captured the First Prize of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth International Violin CompetitionQueen Elisabeth Music Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, bringing him numerous concert engagements, a recording, and a three-year loan of the "Huggins" Stradivarius
Stradivarius
The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
from the Nippon Music Foundation
Nippon Music Foundation
The Nippon Music Foundation is an organisation under the supervision of the Arts and Culture Promotion Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education...
. He was the Competition's youngest participant. As Grand Prize Winner, he was immediately launched on a concert tour, performing with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (DeFilharmonie
DeFilharmonie
deFilharmonie is a Belgian symphony orchestra, with its principal home base in Antwerp. Founded by Gaston Ariën, Jef Maes, J.A...
) under Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden is a Dutch conductor and violinist.-Biography:Van Zweden's father, a pianist, encouraged him to begin violin studies at age five, and he studied music in Amsterdam...
and Aldert Vermeulen, the National Orchestra of Belgium
National Orchestra of Belgium
The Nationaal Orkest van België or Orchestre National de Belgique is the oldest of two major orchestras now in Belgium, along with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège....
under Rumon Gamba
Rumon Gamba
Rumon Gamba , is an English conductor. He studied music at Durham University, and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied conducting with Colin Metters, George Hurst and Sir Colin Davis. He became the first conducting student to obtain the DipRAM...
, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra , abbreviated to OPL, is the national orchestra of Luxembourg, and is based in Luxembourg City. The orchestra formerly performed at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Conservatoire de Luxembourg...
under Emmanuel Krivine
Emmanuel Krivine
Emmanuel Krivine is a French conductor, the son of a Polish mother and a Russian father. He studied the violin as a youth and was a prize-winner at the Paris Conservatoire. He later studied at the Queen Elisabeth School in Brussels....
, as well as in recitals throughout Belgium.
He is currently on the roster of Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world...
.