Pianist

Kerson Leong has been described as “not just one of Canada’s greatest violinists but one of the greatest violinists, period” (Toronto Star). Forging a unique path since his first-prize win at the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition in 2010, he continues to win over colleagues and audiences alike with “a mixture of spontaneity and mastery, elegance, fantasy, intensity that makes his sound recognizable from the first notes” (Le Monde). His latest album release Britten & Bruch, recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Patrick Hahn (Alpha Classics), was awarded Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Choc de Classica, and ‘The Strad Recommends’ by The Strad, as well as five-star recommendations from the Sunday Times and Diapason among others. A sought-after soloist, he was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 2018-19 season and has recently performed as soloist with such ensembles as the Royal, Oslo, Brussels, Kansai, and Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Seattle, Singapore, Toronto, Istanbul, Toledo, Montreal, Stavanger, and Wuppertal symphony orchestras. A sought-after soloist, he was hand-picked by Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be his artist-in-residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain during the 2018-19 season and has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Wigmore Hall, the Auditorium du Louvre, and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. A passionate chamber musician, he has performed at such international festivals and concert series as the Verbier, Rheingau Musik, and Gstaad Menuhin festivals, among others. Passionate about pedagogy and music outreach, he has been invited to give master classes and teach at various festivals and universities, including the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and Gustav Mahler Academy, among others. He is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he was mentored by Augustin Dumay. Leong performs on the “ex Bohrer, Baumgartner” Guarneri del Gesu violin courtesy of Canimex Inc, Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.

EPSG:4326

Summer Music 2024 | Faculty/Guest Recital – Kerson Leong, violin; Chih-Yi Chen, piano

Auer Hall

Chih-Yi Chen has been on the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music since 2003 and is the associate chair of the Chamber and Collaborative Music Department. Chen was a recipient of the 2023 Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award. She has also been on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy for more than two decades. Her versatile qualities as a collaborative partner, chamber musician, soloist and teacher have contributed to a distinguished career, nationally and internationally. Highlights of the 2022-23 season include concerts with violinists Sirena Huang, Richard Lin, Luke Hsu, and Ioana Cristina Goicea, as well as performances and master classes in Taiwan and Argentina. Chen has been performing with International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Laureates since 2003, when she was first invited to perform with Barnabás Kelemen. She has served as an official pianist for the competition since the 9th Quadrennial in 2014 and was awarded special recognition at the 2018 competition for Best Performances of the Beethoven and Mozart sonatas. Her early work with the talented young violinists of the IU Violin Virtuosi, directed by renowned pedagogue Mimi Zweig, led to performances in France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Japan, and throughout the United States. Among the numerous musicians with whom she has collaborated are violinists Jaime Laredo, Mihaela Martin, Kyoko Takezawa, Sarah Kapustin, Andrés Cárdenes, Pavel Berman, Liviu Prunaru, Augustin Hadelich, Clara-Jumi Kang, and Kerson Leong; violists Atar Arad, Brian Chen, and Masumi Per Rostad; cellists Sharon Robinson, Peter Stumpf, and Bion Tsang; clarinetists James Campbell, Howard Klug, and Gábor Varga; bassoonist William Ludwig; and flutist Thomas Robertello. She has also performed with the Michelangelo, Pacifica, Rubens, and Verona string quartets. Born in Taipei, Chen earned Bachelor, Master, and Doctor of Music degrees from the Jacobs School, where she studied with Lev Vlasenko and Luba Edlina-Dubinsky

Summer Music 2024 | Faculty/Guest Recital – Festival Chamber Players

Faculty/Guest Recital – Chih-Yi Chen, piano; Liviu Prunaru, violin

Ioana Cristina Goicea is one of the outstanding violinists of her generation. She won First Prize at the 2017 Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, with critics praising her passionate performance and describing her as “a new star in the musical firmament.
Pianist Chih-Yi Chen’s versatile qualities as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist have distinguished her as a rarity amongst pianists. Her work with the talented young violinists of the Indiana University Violin Virtuosi directed by Mimi Zweig garnered her recognition as a specialist in violin repertoire, and she has since become a sought-after collaborative pianist.

Goicea/Chih-Yi Chen

Tucson Convention Center

Taiwanese-American violinist Richard Lin joins with collaborative pianist Chih-Yi Chen for a recital of classic string works, include Stravinsky's Suite italienne, Sain-Saëns's Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75, and more.

Richard Lin, Violin & Chih-Yi Chen, Piano

Louisiana State University

Summer Music 2024 | Faculty/Guest Recital – Festival Chamber Players: Sarah Kapustin, violin; Amir Eldan, cello; Chih-Yi Chen, piano

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Mihaela Martin, guest violin; Chih-Yi Chen, piano

Praised by The Baltimore Sun for her “impeccable technique…deeply expressive phrasing…and poetic weight,” Sirena Huang is one of her generation’s most celebrated violinists. She brings not only technical brilliance and powerful artistry to the stage, but also a profound sense of connection to her audience. Sirena is the 2022 Gold Medalist of the 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and was also awarded eight of the eleven special prizes. Joining her for this recital is pianist Chih-Yi Chen, with whom she gave her Carnegie Hall recital debut in Zankel Hall last spring to great acclaim. Her debut recording of the same program with Chih-Yi on the Azica label will be released this season. The recital at St. Alban’s Chapel will feature Brahms A major and Beethoven “Spring” sonatas alongside Gabriela Lena Frank’s Sueños de Chambi: Snapshots for an Andean Album and a newly commissioned work by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) which is on its world premiere tour!

Pianist

Chih-Yi Chen

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 28, 2026

Mihaela Martin, guest violin; Chih-Yi Chen, piano · Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Apr 8, 2026

Guest Artist Recital: Sirena Huang (violin) and Chih-Yi Chen (piano) · LSU School of Music

Past events

Jul 14, 2024

Summer Music 2024 | Faculty/Guest Recital – Kerson Leong, violin; Chih-Yi Chen, piano · Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Jul 12, 2024

Summer Music 2024 | Faculty/Guest Recital – Festival Chamber Players · Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Romance by Beach

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Piano in Sonata No. 2 in G major for Violin and Piano by Grieg

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Piano in Divertimento from Le Baiser de la fée by Stravinsky

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

About

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