Chinese violinist Yue Qian is a devoted musician whose passion lies in conveying emotion through her music and fostering connections among people. She has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician at renowned festival around the world, including the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), International Musician’s Seminar Prussia Cove (UK), Beijing Modern Festival (China), Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, Music@Menlo, and the Ravinia Festival Steans Music Institute (US). She has worked with artist groups such as the Brentano Quartet, the Danish Quartet, the Juilliard Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, Thomas Ades, John Adams, Myung-whun Chung, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Simon Rattle, Clive Greensmith, Frans Helmerson, Nobuko Imai, and Robert McDonald. Her orchestral experience includes performing with notable ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the NCPA Orchestra in China. 

Yue also maintains a keen interest in historical performance practice and performs regularly on baroque violin. She has worked with Julie Andrijeski, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Reinhard Goebel, Shunsuke Sato, and Jefferey Thomas, among others, and has been invited to perform with the American Bach Society as well as to participate in the Leipzig Bach Competition.

Yue’s accolades include a silver medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition with the Y Trio, semi-finalist at the 2020 Shanghai Stern International Violin Competition, and winning the University of Southern California Concerto Competition. She was also invited to participate in the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. Her rendition of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.4 with the USC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Carl St. Clair, was chosen to broadcast on KUSC, Southern California’s largest classical music radio station. She is also a member of the Beijing Contemporary Soloists, dedicated to promoting modern composition, and has released the CD “Jade” under NAXOS China with the ensemble, celebrating the voices of contemporary Chinese composers. 

Beyond endeavors on concert stages, Yue also finds much joy and fulfillment in teaching and community engagement, advocating for inclusive musical experiences. With Midori, she oversaw numerous outreach events in the historically underrepresented communities in Los Angeles, Mexico, and Sri Lanka. Recently, Yue served as an artist faculty at the Classical Music Institute 210 Festival in San Antonio, Texas, and held masterclasses at Cal States University Long Beach. She has instructed for the music minor program at USC, and coached chamber music at the Colburn School CSPA. She is currently on the violin and chamber music faculty at the Tianjin Juilliard School’s Pre-College Program. 

Yue’s musical journey began at the age of five. She received her early training at the Shanghai Conservatory Middle School with Binyou Zhou, and later attended Interlochen Arts Academy, where she studied with Yuri Namkung. She pursued her undergraduate and doctorate degrees at USC, with a master’s degree from the Juilliard School. Her mentors include Midori Goto, Ronald Copes, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Bing Wang. During her time at USC, Yue also delved into baroque music and viola performance under the guidance of Adam and Rotem Gilbert, Andrew McIntosh, and Yura Lee. The guidance and nurture from her mentors have instilled in her a deep love or learning and sharing, which resonates throughout her musical endeavors. She cherishes their lasting influence with a heart full of gratitude.  

Yue performs on a modern violin by Stephan von Baehr, generously made available through the kindness of Angelo Xiang Yu.