Chamber Party: An Evening with Marilyn de Oliveira, Sunmi Chang & Brian Hsu

Artists

Sunmi Chang Violin

As the laureate of both the 2007 International Markneukirchen and Sion-Valais International Violin Competitions, Korean-born violinist Sunmi Chang has performed widely to much acclaim throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician.

At the age of 17, she toured with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra playing Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, conducted by Lord Menuhin in UNESCO Headquarters and Guildford Cathedral in England. In 2008, Sunmi was the soloist on Yale Philharmonia’s tour to Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai, performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto. To celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday, she returned to Yale, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with cellist Paul Watkins and pianist Melvin Chen, conducted by Peter Oundjian.

An active chamber musician, she has performed in various chamber music festival, including the Rising Stars Series at Caramoor, Vivace Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music in the Vineyards, and Chamber Music Northwest. Sunmi is also the Founder & Artistic Director of Summit Chamber Music Series—committed to bringing world-class chamber music to West Virginia.

In December 2023, Sunmi recently released Mother Tales under the PARMA recording label with pianist Clara Yang—an album that pays tribute to four remarkable women composers Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, Liliya Ugay, and Amy Beach.

Sunmi received her Bachelor’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, a Master’s degree and an Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music, and a Doctoral degree from the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers have included Eberhard Feltz, Peter Oundjian, Soovin Kim, Ani Kavafian. She recently joined as the violin faculty at the School of Music at the University of Oregon.

Artist's Website

Upcoming Concerts & Events

• Chamber Party: An Evening with Marilyn de Oliveira, Sunmi Chang & Brian Hsu  (currently selected)

Marilyn de Oliveira Cello

Brazilian cellist Marilyn de Oliveira enjoys an active career as a symphonic and chamber musician. Since joining the Oregon Symphony as the Assistant Principal cellist in 2009, Marilyn has been a founding member of Mousai Remix and Pyxis String Quartets, cellist of Third Angle and 45th Parallel Universe, and a guest with prestigious festivals such as Grand Teton Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, and Chamber Music Northwest.

In addition to her many performance engagements, Mrs. de Oliveira is also an educator, orchestral coach, and music activist. She is part of the music faculty at Reed College, maintains a private studio with graduates now in renowned music schools worldwide, and founded the Oregon Symphony Musician’s Caroling Project— a collaborative effort which has brought music to those in need during the holidays for over a decade.

Prior to joining the OSO, Marilyn served as Acting Assistant Principal cellist and section member of the San Antonio Symphony and was a fellow at the New World Symphony in Miami, FL. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, her Master of Music degree at Rice University, and was the Bronze Award Winner in the senior division of The Sphinx Competition in 2006.

Upcoming Concerts & Events

• Chamber Party: An Evening with Marilyn de Oliveira, Sunmi Chang & Brian Hsu  (currently selected)
• Americana: “Appalachian Spring”
• Americana: “Appalachian Spring”
• Voices of Our Land: Dvořák “American” Quintet
• Voices of Our Land: Dvořák “American” Quintet

Brian Hsu Piano

Since his concerto debut at the age of sixteen with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Taiwanese American pianist Brian Hsu has established himself as an artist of great energy and exceptional communicative ability. Critics have praised his performances in superlatives, noting his “breadth of expression and technical ability.”

An experienced and versatile performer, Mr. Hsu has appeared throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa. In the U.S., his performances have included appearances in Boston, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Dallas, and many other cities. He has been featured as concerto soloist with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Taiwan National Symphony, Juilliard Orchestra, Haddonfield Symphony, Sendai Philharmonic, and University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as a guest several times on WQXR in New York. His festival appearances include the Amalfi Coast Music Festival (Italy), Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan), Gijón International Piano Festival (Spain), Eastern Music Festival (North Carolina), Banff Festival of the Arts (Canada), and PianoFest in the Hamptons (New York). His U.S. debut solo recording, Night at the Opera: Part I—featuring opera transcriptions for solo piano—was released in the fall of 2018. In addition to his competition achievements, Mr. Hsu has received numerous awards during his studies at Juilliard, Yale, and the University of Michigan.

Mr. Hsu is frequently engaged as a guest artist, teacher, presenter, and adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association events and other major competitions, including the New Orleans International Piano Competition and the Nanyang Academy of the Arts in Singapore. He has taught masterclasses and performed at universities and conservatories across the U.S. and Asia. An avid chamber musician and collaborator, he has performed with leading artists worldwide. He participated in the World Premiere of Paul Schoenfeld’s Piano Quintet with members of the Pro Arte Quartet (recorded by Albany Records in 2014) and joined Loyola University New Orleans voice alumni for the debut of Logan Skelton’s Letters to Santa in 2016. In 2019, as a member of Ensemble Peri, he took part in its inaugural tour of Korea. He is also a founding member of Key 2 Inclusion, an intercollegiate initiative promoting piano music by Black American and other underrepresented composers.

Mr. Hsu’s teaching and collaborative experience includes staff accompanist at Yale University and the University of Michigan; staff accompanist and chamber music coach at the Eastern Music Festival; piano faculty at the McAlester Institute (Oklahoma) and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan); and schedule coordinator, staff pianist, faculty member, and assistant to the director at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival. He has also taught at Siena Heights University and the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts.

His primary piano teachers include Logan Skelton, Peter Frankl, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Wha-Kyung Byun, Da-Ming Zhu, and John Kuo. He has also studied with Paul Schenly, Marc Durand, and Arthur Greene. Mr. Hsu has won prizes in numerous competitions in the U.S. and Asia, including the Wideman Competition, Corpus Christi International Young Artists’ Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Competition, and the National Piano Competition in Taiwan. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan.

Mr. Hsu is currently Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Oregon. He previously served as Associate Professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Further information, including his U.S. debut CD and upcoming engagements, is available at www.brian-hsu.com.

Artist's Website

Upcoming Concerts & Events

• Chamber Party: An Evening with Marilyn de Oliveira, Sunmi Chang & Brian Hsu  (currently selected)