Che-Yen Chen 陳則言, Violist
Taiwanese-American violist Che-Yen Chen, Professor of Viola at the USC Thornton School of Music, has established himself as an active performer and educator. He is a founding member of the Formosa Quartet, recipient of the First-Prize and the Amadeus Prize winner of the 10th London International String Quartet Competition. Since winning the First-Prize in the 2003 William Primrose International Viola Competition and the “President Prize” of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, Chen has been described by the Strad Magazine as a musician whose “tonal distinction and essential musicality produced an auspicious impression” and by San Diego Union Tribune as an artist whose “most impressive aspect of his playing was his ability to find not just the subtle emotion, but the humanity hidden in the music.” Principal violist of the San Diego Symphony and Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Chen has appeared as guest principal violist with Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. A former member of Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two and participant of the Marlboro Music Festival, he is a member of Camera Lucida, Concertante Chamber Players and The Myriad Trio, which just released its debut album “The Eye of Night”. Summer of 2013 will commence the inaugural year for the Formosa Quartet’s Formosa Chamber Music Festival in Taiwan. Currently teaching at both USC Thornton School of Music and California State University, Fullerton, Chen has previously served on the faculties of Indiana University South Bend, UC San Diego, San Diego State University and McGill University. As a laureate, Chen was invited to serve on the jury of the 2011 Primrose International Viola Competition. A native of Taipei, Chen is a four-time winner of the National Viola Competition in Taiwan. He came to the U.S. in his teens to matriculate at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, studying with such luminaries as Michael Tree, Joseph de Pasquale, Karen Tuttle and Paul Neubauer.
2003年獲Primrose 國際中提琴大賽首獎，是大賽史上唯一贏得首獎的華裔中提琴 家，同年參加Lionel Tertis 國際中提琴大賽亦獲主審獎。弦樂雜誌Strad評論：「獨特的音色與神隨的音樂性，留給人豐盛美好的印象。」聖地牙哥聯合報評論：「有能力找到不僅是微妙 的情感，而且能把隱藏在音樂中的人性呈現給觀眾。」除了獨奏領域，陳則言也是一位活躍的室內樂家與教育家，擁有豐富的樂團經驗。他是Formosa Quartet與The Myriad Trio創團成員，Formosa Quartet 2006年贏得London 國際弦樂四重奏競賽首獎與阿瑪提斯獎。現任聖地牙哥交響樂團和Mainly Mozart Festival樂團中提琴首席，曾受邀客席舊金山交響樂團、洛杉磯愛樂、辛辛那提交響樂團中提琴首席，目前教於加州州立大學富爾頓分校和南加州大學。
自聖地牙哥台美基金會及台灣中心 Yam秋季季刊, 2010
