Amelia Chan

violinist

Amelia Chan is currently concertmaster of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK).

She came to this position from her tenure as concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (US). An experienced leader, Amelia has served in the concertmaster chair under acclaimed conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Michael Tilson Thomas, Manfred Huss, Sergiu Commissiona, Anton Coppola, Zdeněk Mácal, Jorge Mester, Julius Rudel, and Gerard Schwarz. She has also performed with the New York Philharmonic extensively. As a chamber musician, Amelia has served as first violinist of the Montclaire String Quartet, and has collaborated with guitarist Sharon Isbin, accordionist Richard Galliano, violinist Lara St. John, the Ying Quartet, members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players (NYC), among others. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the West Virginia Symphony, the International Virtuosi Orchestra on tour in Central America, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (NYC), the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra (NYC), and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. She has shared the stage as co-soloist with acclaimed flutist Sir James Galway, and frequently acts as director for the City Chamber Orchestra. She has performed at the Costa Rica Music Festival, the Guatemala Music Festival, Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival in New York and the Pacific Music Festival (Japan).

Amelia has been heard on WQXR, New York; WQED, Pittsburgh; West Virginia Public Broadcasting; BBC Radio Scotland, Scotland; and RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong.

As an educator, Amelia approaches the teaching of technique through the lens of whole-body biomechanics, and on the principle that techniques of playing an instrument need to be relational to the body, and to how it moves, instead of relying on a static one-size-fits-all method. She believes in a focused and deep education that goes beyond rote training, where the student learns discernment and critical thinking, while sifting through the layers of intellect needed to decipher the depths of the musical art, to get to the natural, joyful simplicity of music-making.

Amelia holds undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees from the Mannes College of Music and Manhattan School of Music (NY). She began her violin studies in the junior school at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her major teachers included Thomas Wang, Alice Waten, Albert Markov, Shirley Givens, Lisa Kim, Yoko Takebe, Sheryl Staples, Glenn Dicterow, and double-bassist Julius Levine.

For more information on Amelia, please go to her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/ameliachanviolin/ 

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"Concertmaster Amelia Chan in particular played with passion, acting as the vibrant soul of the ensemble.” South China Morning Post 

“…gutsy solo violin throughout [by] concertmaster Amelia Chan…” theprickle.org

AMELIA CHAN, VIOLINIST

Amelia Chan serves as Concertmaster of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, a leadership role she assumed following her tenure as Concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in the United States. An established orchestral leader, she has played under the batons of distinguished conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sergiu Comissiona, Anton Coppola, Zdeněk Mácal, Jorge Mester, Julius Rudel, and Gerard Schwarz. Additionally, she has performed with the New York Philharmonic.

As a chamber musician, her collaboration includes performances with the Ying Quartet, guitarist Sharon Isbin, accordionist Richard Galliano, violinist Lara St. John, and members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. She also served as the first violinist of the Montclaire String Quartet. As a soloist, Chan has appeared with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the International Virtuosi Orchestra on tour in Central America, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Notably, she has shared the stage as co-soloist with Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York), WQED (Pittsburgh), West Virginia Public Broadcasting, BBC Radio Scotland, and RTHK Radio 4 (Hong Kong), and her festival appearances include the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival, as well as the Guatemala and Costa Rica Music Festivals.

Beyond the stage, she is a dedicated educator and the creator of the First Principles Violin System, a philosophy and applied discipline that deconstructs both physical technique and musicianship down to their elemental roots, threading biomechanics and expression into one unified embodiment. To learn more about the First Principles Violin System, please visit firstprinciplesviolin.com.

Amelia Chan holds undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees from the Mannes School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She began her violin studies at the junior school of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her primary teachers and mentors include Thomas Wang, Alice Waten, Albert Markov, Shirley Givens, Lisa Kim, Yoko Takebe, Sheryl Staples, Glenn Dicterow, and double-bassist Julius Levine.

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"Concertmaster Amelia Chan in particular played with passion, acting as the vibrant soul of the ensemble.” South China Morning Post

“…Gutsy solo violin throughout [by] concertmaster Amelia Chan…” theprickle.org