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Ray Chen (; born 6 March 1989) is a Taiwanese-Australian
violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...
. He was the winner of the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Since then, he has regularly collaborated with the world’s foremost orchestras and appeared at renowned concert halls.


Early life and education

Born in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, Chen began learning the violin at the age of four. Within five years he completed all 10 levels of the Suzuki violin method in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, where he grew up. At the age of eight, Chen performed as a soloist with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also invited to perform at the opening celebration concert of the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
in Nagano,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. Early on, his violin teachers included Kerry Smith and Peter Zhang. In 1999, Chen was chosen as the 4MBS’s Young Space Musician of the Year in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. He also received the Australian Music Examinations Board’s Sydney May Memorial Scholarship and was awarded his Licentiate Diploma of Music with distinction at age eleven. In 2002, he won the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition and in 2005, the Kendall National Violin Competition. In 2004, he received the Third Prize at the junior division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition. In 2010, Chen graduated from the
Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
with a
Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...
, where he studied with Aaron Rosand. He also undertook summer studies at the Encore School for Strings with
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 class ...
and
Robert Lipsett Robert Crawford Lipsett Jr. (born October 23, 1947) is an American violin teacher in Los Angeles, California. He holds the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair at the Colburn School. He also serves on the faculty at the Aspen School of Music ...
, and at the
Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, th ...
with Cho-Liang Lin and Paul Kantor on a full tuition fellowship.


Career

In 2008, Chen won the First Prize in the senior division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. At the competition, he came to the attention of jury member
Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (; born 20 August 1974) is a Soviet-born Israeli violinist, violist, and conductor. Classic FM has called him "one of the greatest violinists in the world". Vengerov was born in Novosibirsk, the only child of Al ...
, who engaged him for debuts with the
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra or just the Mariinsky Orchestra (formerly known as the Kirov Orchestra) is located in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra was founded in 1783 during the reign of Catherine the Great, it ...
and the
Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra The Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra (Azerbaijani language, Azeri: ''Hacıbəyov adına Azərbaycan Dövlət Simfonik Orkestri'') was formed in 1920 being one of the first orchestras in the Soviet Union, at the request of composer Uz ...
at the International Rostropovich Festival in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
. Following this, he won the 2008/09 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and was subsequently loaned the 1721 ''Macmillan''
Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
. In 2009, Chen won the First Prize at the
Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...
in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, where he was the youngest participant. Following the competition, he immediately embarked on a concert tour, performing with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden, the
National Orchestra of Belgium The Belgian National Orchestra (, ) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR). The orchestra also gives concerts outside Brussels in such cities as Sankt-Vith and Hasselt. ...
under Rumon Gamba, and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under
Emmanuel Krivine Emmanuel Krivine (born 7 May 1947, Grenoble) is a French conductor. Biography The son of a Polish mother and a Russian father, Krivine studied the violin as a youth. He was a winner of the ''Premier Prix'' at the Paris Conservatoire, at age 16. ...
, as well as in recitals throughout Belgium. He was also given a three-year loan of the 1708 ''Huggins''
Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
from the
Nippon Music Foundation The (NMF) 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. Established 3 March 1972, its stated purpose is to develop internat ...
. In 2010, Chen was signed by
Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...
. His first album with the label, ''Virtuoso'', won him the Newcomer Award at the
2011 Echo Klassik Awards The 2011 Echo Klassik Awards were held on October 2, 2011. It is the 19th edition of the annual Echo Klassik awards for classical music. The ceremony took place in the Konzerthaus Berlin and was broadcast on ZDF. It was hosted by Thomas Gottschalk ...
. In 2012, Chen was invited to perform at the annual
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
Concert, playing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor with the
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. History The orchestra was foun ...
and
Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born on 20 February 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) as Christoph Ringmann. His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross), a ...
. On
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...
in 2015, Chen performed live for an audience of 800,000 people at
Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...
. He was accompanied by the
Orchestre National de France The Orchestre National de France (; ; abbr. ONF) is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since 1975), the ONF performs mainly in the Grand ...
and
Daniele Gatti Daniele Gatti (born 6 November 1961) is an Italian conductor. He is currently chief conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, artistic advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, music director of the Orchestra Mozart and chief conductor of the Staa ...
. In 2016, Chen founded the Made in Berlin
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
along with three string players from the
Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...
, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Amihai Grosz, and Stephan Koncz. In April of that year, Chen was the youngest juror ever of the Menuhin Competition. In January 2017, Chen was signed by
Decca Classics Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
. His first album with the label, ''The Golden Age'', was nominated for an
ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...
for Best Classical Album. In the 2017/18 season, Chen was an “Artist Focus” for the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has a ...
. In 2018, he appeared on an episode of Amazon Prime’s television series, ''
Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in March 20 ...
''. In November 2020, Chen opened the
Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Awards () are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Repub ...
ceremony.


Instruments

Following short-term loans of both the ''Macmillan'' and ''Huggins'' Stradivarius violins, Chen was the recipient of the 1715 ''Joachim'' Stradivarius from the
Nippon Music Foundation The (NMF) 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. Established 3 March 1972, its stated purpose is to develop internat ...
. From 2019 to 2022, he played on the 1735 ''Samazeuilh'' Stradivarius from Nippon. On 12 September 2022, Chen announced that he had received the 1714
Dolphin Stradivarius The ''Dolphin Stradivarius'' or ''Delfino Stradivarius'' of 1714 is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. This violin was once owned and played by the virtuoso Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987). The owner in the late 1 ...
, which was loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation for a year. The violin was formerly played by
Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...
.


Non-classical collaborations

On November 20, 2021, Sting’s song "What Could Have Been", featuring Chen, was featured in the third act of the ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
'' animated series ''
Arcane Arcane may refer to: Comics and literature * Anton Arcane, a DC Comics character * Arcane Jill Watson, a fictional character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' franchise * Arcane literature, fictional literature in the Cthulhu Mythos ...
''; the single was released the same day. Both
Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...
and Chen opened
The Game Awards 2021 The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on D ...
with the song. In 2022, Ray was one of the collaborators on Jay Chou's song and video, "Greatest Works of Art," which rose to number one in China and garnered over 500 million views on
Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
and other Chinese streaming services within 48 hours of release.


Other ventures

Chen is frequently noted for his online presence, being one of the first classical musicians of his stature to embrace social media. He began making comedy videos on his
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page in 2014, and soon began creating humorous content for his
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel relating to violin playing and classical music. The YouTube classical music comedy duo TwoSetViolin cite Chen as an influence in their decision to start doing comedy on their channel and Chen has appeared on their channel numerous times. He continues to create content for
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
and other social media platforms, and hosts both a
Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...
and
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
community as well. An ambassador for
Sony Electronics is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (imaging and sensing), S ...
, Chen is a music consultant at
Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on to develop ...
and is in a multi-year marketing partnership with the Italian fashion house,
Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
. He has also been featured in
Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collectio ...
, written a blog for RCS Rizzoli, and designed a violin case for Gewa. In 2021, Chen launched an app with developer Rose Xi under the title Pocket Conservatory. Conceived as a community-building and practice motivation app for musicians, Pocket attracted 3,500 users immediately (with another 4,000 on the waitlist) in 117 countries. In 2022, Pocket rebranded as Tonic and continued to add users in preparation for a wider launch.


Discography


Albums


Awards and nominations


ARIA Music Awards

The
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
are presented annually from 1987 by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA). ! , - ,
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, ''The Golden Age'' , Best Classical Album , ,


ECHO Klassik Awards

The ECHO Klassik Awards was presented annually from 1994 until 2017 by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie. ! , - ,
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, ''Virtuoso'' , Newcomer Award , ,


''Forbes'' 30 Under 30

In 2017, Chen was selected to be included in ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 under the Entertainment and Sports category for Asia.


References


External links

*
Ray Chen - Columbia Artists Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Ray Australian classical violinists Male classical violinists Living people Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Curtis Institute of Music alumni Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Musicians from Brisbane Musicians from Taipei Taiwanese emigrants to Australia 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians 1989 births