Concert with Pei-Chun Tsai and Ariana Kim

Week of March 13, 2027

Pei-Chun Tsai from Tainan, Taiwan, winner of the Taiwan National Violin Competition, made her debut at the Weill Recital Hall in Manhattan, and has enjoyed summers at the Alfred, Encore, Yellow Barn, and Taos festivals as well as the International Holland Music Sessions. Joseph Fuchs, Daniel Phillips, and Harvey Shapiro have been her teachers and mentors in the United States. She is the founding director of the Campanile Music Festival at San Diego State University and has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2005 in addition to being violin lecturer at SDSU. She released an album of solo violin works entitled “Chaconne” in 2021 highlighting Baroque and contemporary masterpieces of this form. Pei-Chun holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts degree from City University of New York, with Bachelor and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. She performs on a violin by Boston luthier Charline Dequincy, and a bow made by Abe Liebhaber in San Diego.

 

Cellist Ani Aznavoorian has been praised by The Strad as having “scorchingly committed performances that wring every last drop of emotion out of the music. Her technique is well-nigh immaculate, she has a natural sense of theater, and her tone is astonishingly responsive.” An in-demand soloist and chamber musician, she has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Tokyo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, International Sejong Soloists, Belgrade Philharmonic, and the Juilliard Orchestra. She is currently in her nineteenth season as Principal Cellist of Camerata Pacifica.

A Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Ms. Aznavoorian performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. where she received a medal from President Bill Clinton. She is the recipient of the prestigious Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award, as well as top prizes in competitions including the International Paulo Competition, Chicago Cello Society National Competition, the Julius Stulberg Competition, and the American String Teachers Association Competition.

At The Juilliard School, she became the youngest cellist to win the concerto competition, performing with the Juilliard Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall. Her concert appearances include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Wigmore Hall, Ravinia Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and NPR’s Performance Today.

A dedicated educator, Ms. Aznavoorian is on the summer faculty of the Music Academy of the West and has also taught at the University of Illinois. She is also a champion of new music, premiering works by composers including Lera Auerbach, Clarice Assad, Bright Sheng, and David Bruce. She records for Cedille Records and proudly performs on a cello made by her father Peter Aznavoorian in Chicago.