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 | 6 March 1989 Taipei, Taiwan |
||||||
| Genres | Classical | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | Musician | ||||||
| Instruments | Violin | ||||||
| Years active | 1997–present | ||||||
| Labels |
|
||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳銳 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈锐 | ||||||
|
|||||||
Ray Chen (Chinese: 陳銳; pinyin: Chén Ruì; born 6 March 1989) is a super talented Taiwanese-Australian violinist. He won two very important violin contests: the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Since then, he has played with the best orchestras and in famous concert halls all over the world.
Contents
Ray Chen's Early Life and Learning
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.
When he was eight, Ray played as a solo musician with the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also asked to play at the opening concert 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 a high-level music diploma when he was only eleven. He kept winning more competitions, like the Australian National Youth Concerto Competition in 2002. In 2004, he won Third Prize at the junior part of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition.
In 2010, Ray graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He studied there with a famous teacher named Aaron Rosand. He also took summer classes with other great musicians.
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 named Maxim Vengerov was very impressed. He invited Ray to play with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra. After this, Ray won another big competition in New York and was loaned a very old and valuable violin, a 1721 Macmillan Stradivarius.
In 2009, Ray won First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He was the youngest person to win that year! After winning, he went on a concert tour. He played with several orchestras and gave solo performances across Belgium. He was also loaned another famous violin, a 1708 Huggins Stradivarius, for three years.
In 2010, Ray signed with Sony Classical, a big music company. His first album with them, called Virtuoso, won him the Newcomer Award at the 2011 Echo Klassik Awards.
.JPG)
In 2012, Ray was invited to play at the yearly 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 started a string quartet called Made in Berlin with three musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic. In April of that year, he became the youngest judge ever for the Menuhin Competition.
In January 2017, Ray signed with Decca Classics, another major music company. His first album with them, The Golden Age, was nominated for an ARIA Music Award for Best Classical Album.
In 2018, Ray appeared in an episode of the TV show Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon Prime. In November 2020, he opened the Golden Horse Awards ceremony.
Ray Chen's Special Violins
Ray Chen has been lucky enough to play some of the world's most famous violins. These violins are often loaned to him by foundations.
After using the Macmillan and Huggins Stradivarius violins for a short time, he received the 1715 Joachim Stradivarius from the Nippon Music Foundation. From 2019 to 2022, he played on the 1735 Samazeuilh Stradivarius.
On September 12, 2022, Ray announced that he had received the 1714 Dolphin Stradivarius. This violin was also loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation for a year. It was once played by the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz.
Collaborations Beyond Classical Music
Ray Chen has also worked with artists outside of classical music.
On November 20, 2021, the famous singer Sting's song "What Could Have Been" featured Ray Chen. This song was part of the animated series Arcane. Both Sting and Ray opened The Game Awards 2021 with this song.
In 2022, Ray worked with the pop superstar Jay Chou on his song and video, "Greatest Works of Art." This song quickly became number one in China and got over 500 million views online in just two days!
Ray Chen's Other Cool Projects
Ray Chen is known for being very active online. He was one of the first big classical musicians to use social media a lot. He started making funny videos on Facebook in 2014. Soon, he began creating funny videos on his YouTube channel about playing the violin and classical music. The YouTube comedy duo TwoSetViolin even say Ray Chen inspired them to make comedy videos. Ray has appeared on their channel many times.
He still creates content for Instagram and other social media sites. He also runs online communities on Discord and Reddit for his fans.
Ray is an ambassador for Sony Electronics. He is also a music consultant at Riot Games (the company that makes League of Legends). He has a multi-year partnership with the Italian fashion brand, Armani. He has been featured in Vogue Magazine and even designed a violin case for a company called Gewa.
In 2021, Ray launched an app called Pocket Conservatory. He created it with developer Rose Xi. This app helps musicians connect and stay motivated to practice. It quickly attracted thousands of users from many countries. In 2022, the app was renamed Tonic and continues to grow.
Ray Chen's Albums
Ray Chen has released several albums. Here are some of them:
- Stravinsky: Diversions - Music for Violin & Piano (2010)
- Virtuoso (2011)
- Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos (2012)
- Mozart: Violin Concertos & Sonata (2014)
- Ravel: Complete Orchestral Works (2016)
- The Golden Age (2018)
- The Song of Names (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2019)
- Solace (2020)
- Player 1 (2024)
Awards and Recognitions
Ray Chen has won several awards for his amazing music.
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are big music awards in Australia.
- In 2018, his album The Golden Age was nominated for Best Classical Album.
ECHO Klassik Awards
The ECHO Klassik Awards were important classical music awards in Germany.
- In 2011, his album Virtuoso won the Newcomer Award.
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.
Images for kids
-
Ray Chen performing at the Sydney Opera House in 2022
-
Ray Chen performing at Apple Fifth Avenue in 2012
See also
In Spanish: Ray Chen para niños
