×

Fangye Sun to perform with ASO

Courtesy Photo Fangye Sun, internationally acclaimed violinist, will perform Saturday with the Alpena Symphony Orchestra at the Alpena High School auditorium.

ALPENA — Acclaimed as “beautifully expressive,” China-born violinist Fangye Sun has concertized throughout Asia, Europe, and North America, and now she is coming to Alpena to perform with the Alpena Symphony Orchestra Saturday.

The Alpena Symphony Orchestra will hold its “Spring Gala” performanc at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Alpena High School Auditorium, 3303 S. 3rd Ave. The ASO will be conducted by maestro Jim VanEizenga, Director of Orchestras for Novi High School. The ASO is looking forward to this performance on the AHS stage, after last appearing December of 2019.

The concert opens with Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” so called because in 1822 Schubert only composed two movements for this work. Why he never composed a third and fourth movement for this symphony remains a mystery to this day since this is officially “Symphony No. 8 in B Minor” and a complete “Symphony No. 9 in C Major” was composed several years later. Perhaps maestro Jim VanEizenga will shed some light on this question in his pre-concert comments.

After intermission the ASO will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major” with Dr. Fangye Sun as the violin soloist. Sun began her study of the violin at an early age in China under the tutelage of her father. By age 11 she was already winning competitions in her native country and in Marquette. It wasn’t long before Sun was performing throughout Asia, Europe, and North America as a soloist and as a violinist in various string ensembles. Sun holds a D.M.A. and M.M. from Michigan State University and a B.M. from Xi’an Conservatory of Music. Sun is Assistant Professor of Violin at Central Michigan University and can frequently be heard performing during the summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Music Camp and at the Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey.

The ASO is honored by Sun’s presence and participation in this concert.

Ticket price is $15 per adult, with students and children admitted free. Tickets will be available at the door prior to the performance. The ASO is a nonprofit organization. A reception will follow the concert in the high school lobby.

Sun has performed at Wiener Musikverein, Tonhalle, Suntory Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara, Victory Symphony Hall, Benaroya Hall, and Hong Kong Cultural Center. She has collaborated with renowned musicians Ralph Votapek, Carl Topilow, Bin Huang, Stephan Picard, Yuri Gandelsman, Anthony Elliott, and members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

An avid chamber musician, she is a founding member of the Accorda Trio (violin, cello, and harp), the Armonia String Quartet, and Duo Piacevole (violin and cello), and was featured in the Asian Youth Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck, and Leelanau Summer Music Festival. A seasoned orchestral musician, Sun has served as guest concertmaster of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, and Shannxi Symphony Orchestra (China). In addition, she has been performing with the Grand Rapids Symphony since 2011.

Prior to moving to the United States, she held a professorship at Xi’an Conservatory of Music where she was the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award. She was a member of the resident String Quartet and was the chair of the string area at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. In addition to serving as faculty artist at Bay View Music Festival during the summers, Sun performs on concert tours and holds residencies at Universities and Conservatories in China. A sought-after teacher, she has presented seminars and lecture recitals at International ClarinetFest, the College of Music Society National Conference, and the Michigan Music Conference and serves on the American String Teacher Association Collegiate Committee. Her recent master class engagements include master classes at Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (Thailand), Bowling Green State University, California State University, Luther College, and Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, Xi’an Conservatory of Music, Xia Men University, Capital Normal University, Shandong University, and Guangxi Normal University (China), among others.

In recent years, her students have been named prize winners at the MMTA Young Artist Solo Competition, White Lake Young Artist Competition, Concert Artist International Virtuoso Competition and Bay View Music Festival Concerto Competition. Numerous students made solo appearances with orchestras such as the Jackson Symphony, CMU Symphony, and BVMF Orchestra and made debut performances in Carnegie Hall. Her students have received full scholarships to Round Top Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Philadelphia Music Festival, Miami Music Festival, and Brevard Music Festival. Alumni of her studio can be found in major orchestras in China as well as in collegiate music programs in the U.S., Germany, and Singapore. Her interest in multicultural musical elements in new music has led to her CD recording project “Chinese Fantasies.” Featuring both traditional and newly commissioned works by Chinese and American composers, it was released by Blue Griffin Recording in 2019 and is available on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Music, and Spotify. This project was generously supported by the CMU Faculty Research and Creative Endeavors Grant.

Her early violin training started at an early age with her father. After winning the gold medal at the “Gao Hua” Chinese Youth Violin Competition at the age of eleven, she has won the Best Performance Prize at the 7th Chinese National Violin Competition, the Bronze Medal at the 3rd

Chinese National “Golden Bell Award” Violin Competition, and Second Prize at the Marquette Symphony Young Artist Competition. Additionally, she was named winner of the Michigan State University Honors Concert Concerto Competition.

Sun holds a D.M.A. and M.M. in Violin Performance from Michigan State University and a B.M. from Xi’an Conservatory of Music. Her mentors include Walter Verdehr, Yaoji Lin, and Xie Min. During her studies, she had further opportunities to work with the Julliard String Quartet, David Kim, Paul Roczek, Alice Schoenfeld, Charles Dutoit and Valery Gergiev. Her live performances and media appearances have been broadcasted on Blue Lake Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, WRUV, WCMU, WKAR, WDIY, WLNS, and Hanzhong TV Station.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today