Artists in Residence

Starting in our 2011-12 season, CFAS has created an Artistic Residency that is designed to enhance each of our major programs by adding a fresh new element to elevate programming to ever higher levels. The key role for the Artist in Residence is to take the curatorial and performing lead for our All Chinese Music Concerts series, the cornerstone of our professional music programs. The Artist in Residence will bring a fresh perspective to the curatorial mix and ensure that our programming continues to be both cutting edge and diverse. Additionally, they will be highly involved with CFAS’s other events throughout the year, infusing their musical taste and knowledge to our programs and expanding the cultural reach of the organization.

2012

CFAS is pleased to introduce our 2012 Artists in Residence, Yuan Qing Yu and the members of Civitas Ensemble.

Yuan-Qing Yu, violin, is the Assistant Concert Master of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. An international award-winning violinist, Yuan-Qing leads an active life in music as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and advocate of the CSO.

Civitas is a nonprofit performing arts group comprised of members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Their mission is to present high quality classical music performances to people who are passionate about live music through innovative programming, to bring music to those who would benefit from the healing powers of classical music but have limited access, and to raise awareness and appreciation for classical music among young students.

We are delighted to welcome this dynamic new ensemble to our organization as our artists-in-residence and look forward to an exciting year together.

2011

For our first Artists in Residence, CFAS is proud to have selected Duo Diorama as our 2011-2012 Artists in Residence. Comprised of two renowned soloists — Chinese violinist MingHuan Xu and Canadian pianist Winston Choi – the duo effectively blends their distinctive personalities together to create a unified whole. We are deeply indebted to Winston and Minghuan for the tremendous work that they did on behalf of the CFAS in 2011, and thank them for their terrific work.

About Duo Diorama

Duo Diorama is a leading proponent of music of living composers. They are committed to music from today’s culture and take a very personal approach to the presentation of these works. Their own performances contain multi-disciplinary works involving electronic media. By juxtaposing their performances with colorful commentary, Duo Diorama’s unique performances emphasize the relevance and vivacity of classical music. For our first Artists in Residence, CFAS is proud to have selected Duo Diorama, a pair of highly energetic and talented young professional musicians who have their fingers on the pulse of cutting edge new music through their associations with leading composers and instrumentalists.

Violinist MingHuan Xu performs extensively in recital and with orchestra in China and North America. She is also a highly sought-after chamber musician, having collaborated with the St. Petersburg Quartet, Colin Carr, Eugene Drucker, Ilya Kaler, and Ani Kavafian. Xu was a winner of the Beijing Young Artists Competition and gave her New York debut at age 18 as soloist with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra. Currently on faculty at Loyola University Chicago, she plays on a 1758 Nicolas Gagliano violin.

Pianist Winston Choi was Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition (Canada) and winner of France’s 2002 Concours International de Piano 20e siècle d’Orléans. He regularly performs in recital and with orchestra throughout North America and Europe. Already a prolific recording artist, he can be heard on the Arktos, Crystal, l’Empreinte Digitale, Intrada and QuadroFrame labels. Formerly on the faculties of the Oberlin Conservatory and Bowling Green University, he is Assistant Professor and Head of Piano at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.