Concert dedicated to Aldo Belli
Praised for his “exquisite playing” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Yehudi Wyner, violinist
Chuong Vu has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber music collaborator in North and South
America, Europe, and Asia with repertoire ranging from early baroque to modern music. The Saigon
Times writes that "Chuong Vu is an instrumentalist to treasure. Not only does he play with exquisite
tone and superb technical virtuosity, but he also clearly loves the music, and loves playing it."
A regular soloist with all major Vietnamese orchestras including the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra,
the Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra (HBSO), and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra,
Chuong has appeared as a guest soloist with the Sun Symphony Orchestra and the Vietnam Classical
Players (Vietnam), the Sun Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra (Taiwan), the Orchestra of Slovak Radio
and Television (Slovakia), the Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra (Brazil), the Chihuahua Symphony
Orchestra (Mexico), the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Plano
Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, and UNT Baroque Orchestra (USA), among
others. He has performed over twenty-five concertos and popular works for violin and orchestra,
among them the violin concertos by Bach, Barber, Bruch, Faure, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Vivaldi,
Wieniawski, and Zhanhao He/Gang Chen, Scottish Fantasy by Bruch, Concerto Grosso No. 1 by
Schnittke, Double Concertos by Brahms and Mendelssohn, Triple Concerto by Beethoven, Concertos
for Four Violins by Vivaldi and Valentini, Sinfonia Concertante for Four Violins by Maurer, and the
music by Chausson, Dvorak, Rimsky-Korsakov, Saint-Saens, and John Williams. Conductors under
whom Chuong has performed as a soloist include Clay Couturiaux, Hector Guzman, and David Itkin
(USA), Raúl Velázquez (Mexico), Alexander Mickelthwate (Germany), Kalle Kuusava (Finland),
Nathalie Marin and Olivier Ochanine (France), Paul Leenhouts (Holland), Wojciech Czepiel (Poland),
Branislav Hronec (Slovakia), Christopher Zimmerman (UK), Honna Tetsuji (Japan), Fouad Fakhouri
(Lebanon), Ai Kuang Sun (Taiwan), and Fi Fi Le (Vietnam-Macedonia), among others.
An avid chamber musician, Chuong has been heard at Festival Internacional de Música do Pará and
Enflama Festival (Brazil), Boston Early Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Texas Music
Festival, HBSO's Autumn Melodies Art Festival, and Vietnam Connection Music Festival as well as
at concert series such as Fine Art Chamber Players, Live at Dallas Steinway Hall, Mélange Musical,
and Chamber Music International. Notable collaborators in concerto and chamber music performances
include violinists Stephanie Chase, Nai-Yuan Hu, Kyung Sun Lee, Cynthia Roberts, Vilmos Szabadi,
Chen Xi, and Bui Cong Duy, violist Susan Dubois, cellist Eugene Osadchy, double bassist Jeff
Bradetich, pianist Jean-Louis Haguenauer, among others.
Chuong's solo and chamber music performances have been broadcast live on Ho Chi Minh City
Television, Vietnamese National Television, and Brazilian TV Cultura Canal 2. Further highlights
include a solo performance of the U.S. National Anthem with the Open Classical Orchestra for an
audience of more than 40,000 at the national-televised Texas Rangers game at the Globe Life Park in
Arlington on July 29, 2016 and appearances as the featured soloist with HBSO Symphony Orchestra,
performing the violin concertos by Barber and Sibelius at the special concerts to celebrate 20 years of
Vietnam – U.S. diplomatic relationship and 100 years of Finland's Independence Day, respectively.
A prolific orchestral musician, Chuong has served as concertmaster of the San Angelo Symphony
Orchestra and the VASCAM Ensemble. He has performed as a guest concertmaster for the symphony
orchestras of Amarillo, Irving, Monroe, Richardson, and Wichita Falls. Other ensembles he has played
with include Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra,
and Oklahoma City Philharmonic, among many others. As a Baroque violinist, Chuong has
collaborated with early music ensembles including Houston Chamber Choir, Mercury Baroque,
Orchestra of New Spain, Texas Camerata, and Ensemble Fantasmi.
Chuong Vu holds a bachelor and master degree from the University of Houston, a graduate artist
certificate and doctorate from the University of North Texas. His principal teachers include Fredell
Lack, Emanuel Borok, Philip Lewis, Albert Muenzer, Cynthia Roberts, Nguyen Anh Giang, and Bui
Cong Thanh. He has performed in masterclasses given by Ruggiero Ricci, James Buswell, Charles
Castleman, Victor Dachenko, Alex Kerr, Elmar Oliveira, Rachel Podger, William Preucil, Lucie
Robert, Sylvia Rosenberg, Almita Vamos, and Karen Turtle, among others. A passionate teacher
himself, Dr. Vu has cultivated a number of talented young students, some of whom recently were
accepted into music programs at Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, University of North
Texas, University of Houston, and Columbia University. His students have been prize-winners of
national and international music competitions. Dr. Vu has held teaching positions at the University of
North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington. He has given masterclasses in the US, Brazil,
Germany, Taiwan, and Vietnam. In 2019 he served as the Deputy Chair of the Organizing Committee
and a jury member of the Vietnam International Music Competition for Violin and Chamber Music. In
2020 he was invited to join the pre-selection jury for the George Enescu International Competition
(Romania).
As the Artistic Director of the Vietnam Connection Music Festival and Artistic Advisor of the Vietnam
International Music Competition, Dr. Vu is actively involved in the process of finding new sponsorship
for the organizations, creating music programs to be performed at the festival, inviting international
artists to the festival, and judging the competition.
Cheol-woong Lee graduated from College of Music, Yonsei University and Folkwang Hochschule, Essen in Germany(Diplom, Konzert Examen). After serving as assistant principal trombone of the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra and as principal trombone of the KBS Symphony Orchestra for a long time, he is currently devoting himself to teaching students as a professor at his alma mater, Yonsei University. Cheol-woong Lee, recognized as Korea's first music respiration educator, is now actively engaged in various fields not only as an educator but also as a performer, conductor, and music administrator. While actively performing as an artist of Littin Music in Germany and striving, as music director of the Korean Wind Orchestra, for the development of Korean wind orchestras, he is now working hard to globalize Korean wind orchestral music as a member of the organizing committee for the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival and the Director of Musical Art Association of Korea
Flutist Bonghwan Lee, who is delivering the greatness of flute music at numerous stages and educational sites, graduated from Konservatorium der Stadt Wien in Austria and received the diploma of the master ’s degree from the same university.
Lee showed a high level of musical ability in various fields such as solo, chamber music, and orchestra. He has performed with a number of orchestra such as Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungary National Sabavia Symphony Orchestra, Janacek Symphony Orchestra, Korean Philharmonic, Vienna Academy Chamber, Ukrainian State Orchestra, Würzburg Chamber Orchestra, Bulgarian National Orchestra, Sofia Solist chamber, China Sichuan Conservatory Philharmonic, China Yanji Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Russia Volgograd Chamber, FOCUS Percussion Ensemble, FTA Flute Orchestra, Gyeongju Chamber, Pohang Philharmonic and Guri Philharmonic. He gave numerous recitals both at home and abroad, including the solo recital in 2001.
In addition, he participated in over 30 regular concerts and several concerts for young musicians including the ones held at the Seoul Arts Center, Youngsan Art Hall, Goyang Aram Nuri and Seongnam Arts Center as a member of the Klang Woodwind Quintet. Furthermore, he attracted a large audience by showing the beauty of flute music ensemble through various chamber music performances including Musikschulverband Staatz und Umgebung invitation concert, the memorial concert for the opening of Youngsan Yangjae Hall, the invitation of the Garam Art Hall in Busan and the 40th concert of Korean Women's Composers Association.
He also delivered his enthusiasm by giving lectures in international master classes and seminars such as Internationales Kammermusik Festival Austria, MeisterKurse ÖST-West Musikfest in Krems, Wiener Meister Kurs, Fortbildung Seminar für Flötenlhrer, Internationales Flöten Kurse in Sterzing Südtriol and "NÖ Blas Musikverband BAG Mistelbach”. He gave lectures in Yedang Art TV Cultural Program "Open Classic" and published translation of Trevor Wye Flute Book Vol. 1 "Tone" (Sekwang Publishing Co.). Moreover, as a conductor of the wind orchestra, he is contributing to the development of wind music by performing in numerous concerts such as special commemorative concert for the 20th anniversary of the ‘National Music University Wind Orchestra Association’, the University Concert in 2016 hosted by Seodaemun-gu, 2016 Jeju International Wind Music Festival, and a concert for the 70th anniversary of Kookmin University with Kookmin University wind orchestra.
Bonghwan Lee, who has an illustrious orchestra career as a chief of Vienna Academy Chamber, Solideo Sinfonieta Vienna, and a member of the Haydn Chamber of Hungary, has been a presenter of Seocho Cable TV "Classic Focus". In 2010, he was awarded as a musician of the year by Sejong art and culture association. He taught local students as a full-time lecturer at the Austrian State Music School from 1994 to 1996 and is now a professor of music at Kookmin University and a visiting professor at Yanbian University in China. He is also an Executive Director of Korea Flute Educators Association and a member of the Klang Woodwind Quintet.