Artist Biography
Che-Yen Chen , Viola
First prize winner of the 2003 William Primrose Viola Competition and "Yuri Bashmet prize" winner of the 2003 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition, twenty-six year old Taiwanese violist Che-Yen Chen (also known as "Brian Chen") has established himself as a prominent recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician. He has performed throughout the US and abroad, including Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barge Music, 92nd Street Y, Mannes Auditorium in New York, Jordon Hall, Gardner Museum in Boston, Library of Congress, Kreeger Museum in D.C., Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, National Concert Hall, Novel Hall in Taipei, Wigmore Hall, and Snape Malting Concert Hall in U.K., among numerous others. The Strad described Mr. Chen in his New York recital debut as "In all, his tonal distinction and essential musicality produced an auspicious impression".
As the founding member of Quartet de Formosa, Mr. Chen is an advocate of chamber music. He was a member of CMS Two in Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center and had collaborated with members of Guarneri, Juilliard, Mendelssohn, Emerson, Orion String Quartet, the Artists Members of the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center, and has performed with such distinguished artists as Jaime Laredo, Gil Shaham, Ralph Kirshbaum, Gilbert Kalish, Jerome Lowenthal, and Felix Galimir. He has participated in several tours with Musicians from Marlboro, as a result of his three consecutive summers at the Marlboro Music Festival. He was a participant in Ravinia Festival, and was featured in the festival's Rising Star series and the inaugural Musician from Ravinia tour. Other festival appearances include Grand Canyon Music Festival, Music Mountain, Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival, Arcady Music Festival, Bard Music Festival, Bath International Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival in UK, Incontri in Terra di Siena, Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy, and Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia.
Mr. Chen began studying violin at the age of six with Ben Lin, and switched to viola one year later. A four-time winner of the National Viola Competition in Taiwan, he came to the US at age 14 and was accepted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Michael Tree, Karen Tuttle, and Joseph dePasquale. Mr. Chen received the Master degree and String Quartet Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Paul Neubauer and the Juilliard String Quartet. During the 99-00 season, Mr. Chen joined The Florida Orchestra directed by Jahja Ling as the principal viola. Mr. Chen had been a member of the award-winning Avalon String Quartet for the past 3 seasons, and held a faculty position at Indiana University-South Bend, where the group serves as the Resident String Quartet. This up-coming season Mr. Chen will re-join with maestro Jahja Ling as the principal viola of the San Diego Symphony. Other appearances next season include 2004 International Viola Congress in Minnesota, 2004 William Primrose Festival in Glasgow, and concerto debut in New York with New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra.