Ray Chen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Chen
Chen performing at the Sydney Opera House in 2022
Background information
Native name	陳銳
Born	(1989-03-06) 6 March 1989 (age 36) Taipei, Taiwan
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Decca Classics Sony Classical
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	陳銳
Simplified Chinese	陈锐
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Ruì

Ray Chen (born March 6, 1989) is a super talented Taiwanese-Australian violin player. He won two big music competitions: the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Since then, he has played with many of the world's best orchestras and performed in famous concert halls.

Ray Chen's Early Life and Learning Music

Ray Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He started learning the violin when he was just four years old. By the time he was nine, he had finished all 10 levels of the Suzuki violin method in Brisbane, Australia, where he grew up.

First Performances and Awards

When Ray was eight, he played as a solo musician with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also asked to perform at the opening party for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. His first violin teachers were Kerry Smith and Peter Zhang.

In 1999, Ray was named the Young Space Musician of the Year in Brisbane. He also won a special scholarship and earned his Licentiate Diploma of Music with high honors at age eleven. He continued to win more competitions, including the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition in 2002 and the Kendall National Violin Competition in 2005. In 2004, he won third prize in the junior part of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition.

Studying at Music Schools

In 2010, Ray Chen finished his music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. There, he studied with a famous teacher named Aaron Rosand. He also spent summers learning at other music schools, getting tips from top violinists.

Ray Chen's Amazing Career

In 2008, Ray Chen won first prize in the senior part of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition in Cardiff, Wales. A judge at the competition, Maxim Vengerov, was so impressed that he invited Ray to play with big orchestras like the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra. After this, Ray won another important competition in New York. He was even loaned a very old and valuable violin, a 1721 Macmillan Stradivarius.

Winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition

In 2009, Ray Chen won first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He was the youngest person to win that year! After winning, he immediately went on a concert tour, playing with many orchestras across Belgium and Luxembourg. He was also loaned another famous violin, the 1708 Huggins Stradivarius, for three years.

Recording Albums and Performing Worldwide

In 2010, Ray Chen signed with Sony Classical, a major music company. His first album with them, Virtuoso, won him the Newcomer Award in 2011.

Chen performing at Apple Fifth Avenue in 2012

In 2012, Ray was invited to play at the annual Nobel Prize Concert. He performed a violin concerto with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

On Bastille Day in 2015, Ray played live for a huge crowd of 800,000 people in Paris, France. He was joined by the Orchestre National de France.

In 2016, Ray helped start a string quartet called Made in Berlin. He also became the youngest judge ever at the Menuhin Competition.

In 2017, Ray signed with Decca Classics, another big music company. His album The Golden Age was nominated for an ARIA Music Award for Best Classical Album. In 2018, he even appeared on an episode of the TV show Mozart in the Jungle. In November 2020, Ray opened the Golden Horse Awards ceremony.

Ray Chen's Special Violins

Ray Chen has been lucky enough to play on some of the world's most famous and valuable violins. These violins were made by a master craftsman named Stradivarius hundreds of years ago.

He has played the 1715 Joachim Stradivarius and the 1735 Samazeuilh Stradivarius. On September 12, 2022, Ray announced that he received the 1714 Dolphin Stradivarius. This violin was once played by the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz. These violins are loaned to him by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Working with Other Artists

Ray Chen has also worked with musicians outside of classical music.

In November 2021, he was featured on a song called "What Could Have Been" by the famous singer Sting. This song was part of the animated TV series Arcane. Both Sting and Ray performed the song at The Game Awards 2021.

In 2022, Ray worked with pop star Jay Chou on his song and video, "Greatest Works of Art." This song became number one in China and got over 500 million views online very quickly!

Ray Chen's Other Cool Projects

Ray Chen is well-known for being active online. He was one of the first classical musicians to use social media a lot. He started making funny videos on his Facebook page in 2014. Soon, he began creating humorous content for his YouTube channel about playing the violin and classical music. Other popular classical music YouTubers, TwoSetViolin, say Ray inspired them to make comedy videos. Ray has appeared on their channel many times. He also creates content for Instagram and other social media sites, and he has communities on Discord and Reddit.

Ray is an ambassador for Sony Electronics. He also works as a music consultant for Riot Games, the company that makes the game League of Legends. He has a partnership with the Italian fashion brand Armani. Ray has been featured in Vogue Magazine and even designed a violin case.

In 2021, Ray Chen launched an app called Pocket Conservatory with developer Rose Xi. This app helps musicians connect and stay motivated to practice. It quickly gained thousands of users from many different countries. In 2022, the app changed its name to Tonic and continued to grow.

Ray Chen's Music Albums

Ray Chen has released several albums. Here are some of them:

Awards and Recognitions

Ray Chen has won several important awards for his music.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are big music awards in Australia.

ECHO Klassik Awards

The ECHO Klassik Awards were important classical music awards in Germany.

Forbes 30 Under 30

In 2017, Ray Chen was chosen for Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Asia. This list highlights 30 successful people under 30 years old in different fields.

See also

In Spanish: Ray Chen para niños