Recognized for his “calm, affectionate and continuous cantabile performance that has far exceeded the level of playing of his contemporaries”, Hong Kong-Canadian violinist Aaron Chan is sought after as a soloist and chamber player around the globe.
A two-time Sylva Gelber Award recipient, Aaron received Bachelor of Music with Stephen Rose and Jinjoo Cho at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. He then continued his Masters degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of music under the guidance of Paul Kantor. Aaron was the winner of the concerto competitions at CIM and Rice respectively. In 2018, Aaron won the classical concerto competition and chamber competition with his quartet (Lafontaine Quartet) at McGill. During the 2022-23 season, Aaron held a fellowship as a resident of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 2023, Aaron was awarded the winner of Young Artist Audition and was selected to join the roster of Musicus Soloists Hong Kong (MSHK).
Aaron especially loves playing chamber music, finding total joy in communicating with other musicians through sound alone. He's spent summers at the McGill International String Quartet Academy, the ENCORE Chamber Music festival in Cleveland and at the Verbier Festival's Soloist and Chamber Music Academy in Switzerland.
陳倬朗的演奏令樂評人擊節讚賞：「陳倬朗冷靜、深情、連綿的如歌演繹，已遠遠超出了他這一代的年齡層。他動人而順暢自然的演奏，帶著大量的樂句呼吸位置，藝術性的水平，似曾是來自已消失的上世紀小提琴黃金年代。」
陳氏曾兩次贏得專為優秀年輕加拿大音樂家而設的基爾伯基金會大獎，赴克里夫蘭音樂學院及麥基爾大學完成學士課程，及於休斯頓萊斯大學謝帕德音樂學院完成碩士課程期間，均勝出該音樂學院至為重要的協奏曲比賽。在2022-23年期間，他參與了多倫多皇家音樂學院里班克斯家族基金獎學金及國際演出駐留計劃。隨後，陳氏更成為了誼樂社2023「年輕音樂家招募」的優勝者，被邀請成為「樂．誼獨奏家樂團」其中一位成員。
陳氏尤其喜愛演奏室樂，完全享受與其他音樂家透過樂音溝通的樂趣。他曾參與麥基爾國際弦樂四重奏學院、克里夫蘭安歌室樂節和韋爾比亞音樂節獨奏家及室樂音樂學院的夏季項目。
Less formal (and fun) version
Aaron Chan remembers sitting in the backseat of his parents’ car as a kid, driving around the chaotic streets of Hong Kong and hearing Fritz Kreisler tunes on the radio. Something about the clear sweet sound of the violin appealed to him. His family had no particular interest in classical music, but Aaron liked it well enough and playing an instrument would help his chances of getting into a good elementary school. So his parents signed him up for violin lessons.
It was fun. Aaron quickly excelled. Before long, he realized that the simple act of pulling a bow across the strings, creating something beautiful in the moment, could result in a life-changing experience for someone listening. As a quiet, shy boy, he discovered that music could transcend words and gave him a voice.
Aaron was helped by a great teacher in Hong Kong who believed in his potential. He studied violin and viola before leaving home at 18 to work with the charismatic Korean violinist Jinjoo Cho at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He followed her to Montreal when she joined the faculty at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in Montreal.
And today, he’s on a musical roll. He’s won the Sylva Gelber Award - a prize given to exceptional young Canadian musicians - twice. He’s won the all-important concerto competition at every music school he’s attended - CIM and McGill for his bachelor’s, the Shepherd School at Rice University in Houston for his master’s. He was one of the residents of the 2022-23 Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 2023, Aaron was awarded the winner of Young Artist Audition and was selected to join the roster of Musicus Soloists Hong Kong (MSHK).
And he’s wowing the critics with his “singing tone…bravura technique and poetic imagination. Bravo!”
Aaron especially loves playing chamber music, finding total joy in communicating with other musicians through sound alone. He's spent summers at the McGill International String Quartet Academy, the ENCORE Chamber Music festival in Cleveland and at the Verbier Festival's Soloist and Chamber Music Academy in Switzerland. He’s also fascinated with jazz and the freedom it offers, where “mistakes” open up possibilities, where playing with a group is a way of sharing musical ideas that’s completely spontaneous and unlimited.
Aaron is inspired by musicians who play like no one else, musicians whose approach may seem outside the ordinary, but who still manage to pierce the heart. It’s the ideal he strives for.