En-Chi Cheng

Guest Musician

Taiwanese violist En-Chi Cheng is currently a graduate student of Samuel Rhodes, as a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music, as a pupil of Joseph de Pasquale and Hsin-Yun Huang. He has also been deeply influenced by the legendary Nobuko Imai, with whom he has worked for the past decade.

Mr. Cheng is a multiple prizewinner of international competitions and awards. In 2016, he garnered the Josef Weinberger Publisher Prize in the 12th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. He received the Chi-Mei Arts Award from the Chi-Mei Cultural Foundation twice, in 2012 and 2014. At the ages of eleven and thirteen, he also won the Taiwan National Music Competition twice in a row. Mr. Cheng had held the principal viola chair of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the Moritzburg Academy Chamber Orchestra, and guest principal of the Tainan Symphony Orchestra; and is currently the principal viola of the Juilliard Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed with renowned artists such as Nobuko Imai, Ilya Kaler, Peter Wiley, Joseph Lin, Meng-Chieh Liu, Veit Hertenstein, and the Johannes Quartet; and has participated in a number of festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Moritzburg Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute, Viola Space Tokyo, Otaru Viola Masterclass, Music from Angel Fire, and the Taos School of Music.

Mr. Cheng's recent performance highlights include a solo appearance with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, playing the Walton Concerto with conductor Felix Chiu-Sen Chen. He also performed as part of the 30th anniversary celebration concert series of the Taiwan National Concert Hall, chamber concert tours led by Nobuko Imai in Taiwan and Japan, and the anniversary gala concert of the Playing for Formosa - one of the most important emerging concert series in Taiwan for young musicians.

In addition to sharing music around the world, Mr. Cheng enjoys teaching students both in the United States and Taiwan.