yung-chiao wei
double bassist
Currently a double bass professor at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Wei is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, honors including the 2006 LSU Tiger Athlete Foundation Teaching Award, 2005 LSU Summer Research Stipend Grant, 2003 Taiwan Young Concert Artist Competition, both the 2nd Prize and Audience prize in the 2001 Izuminomori International Double Bass/Cello Competition in Japan, the New World Symphony Concerto Competition, the Texas International Festival Concerto Competition, two consecutive years the Interlochen Arts Academy Concerto Competition, the Academy’s Young Artist and Fine Arts Award, and first prize in the Taiwan National Music Competition.
Ms. Wei’s recent Carnegie Hall debut garnered tremendous praise from New York Concert Review Inc. Critic Anthony Aibel, who cited “Wei is a phenomenon”. Her performance of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata in A minor elicited another mention of praise; Aible affirmed that “nuance on the double bass is hard to accomplish, but Wei plays with subtlety of dynamics, color and expression one seldom, if ever, hears on the bass.”
Wei has appeared at major concert halls around the world including Carnegie Hall, Davis Hall, Jordan Hall, Isabella Stewart Garden Museum, Ozawa Hall, Lincoln Center Alice Tully Hall, National Concert Hall (Taiwan), Izuminomori Hall (Japan). Recent and upcoming performances include her New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, recital and master class at Berlin 2010 International Double Bass Convention, concerto appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, the New World Symphony (FL), Penang Symphony Orchestra in Malaysia and solo recitals throughout US and Asia. She has been invited to give performances and/or master classes at the Eastman School of Music, Interlochen Arts Academy, University of Michigan, Ithaca College School of Music, Belize (Central America), Japan Double Bass seminar, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, International Society of Bassist Convention, Shanghai Conservatory and Shenyang Conservatory in China, Taipei University of the Arts, Tunghai University in Taiwan, Malaysia, University of North Florida, among many. She served as a faculty member of the Bowdoin Music Festival in Maine, and was a juror for the International Bassist Society Competition in 2003.
As a chamber musician, Wei has collaborated with celebrated artists such as Leon Fleisher, James Buswell, John Gibbson and Joseph Robinson. She was invited by Denis Brott (artist director of the Montreal Chamber Music Festival) to perform in Montreal Chamber Music Festival, where she collaborated with Dennis Brott, James Campbell, Joseph Rouleau, Gabriel Gascon, Rosemarie Landry, Andy Simionescu, James Ehnes, Neal Gripp, Stephane Levesque, and James Sommerville. Her orchestra experience includes serving as principal bassist in the New World Symphony Orchestra (FL) under Michael Tilson Thomas; the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra in Boston. She has participated in several festivals including the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto (Italy) and the Pacific Music Festival (Japan). Wei has been featured on the radio and television throughout USA (CBS, WGBH, PBS), Japan’s NHK, Canada's CBC, Belize and Taiwan.
Wei stretched her repertoire from its classic European and Asian base to include a whole new genre, the Argentine tango. She joined 19 other women, the Leading Ladies of Tango-an all female tango performance in 2006 by invitation of Ted Viviani, executive producer of an Extreme Tango Production in San Francisco. She collaborated with the outstanding Argentinean singer Silvana Deluigi, Uruguay's virtuoso pianist Polly Ferman, Viviana Guzman (Flute), Anna-Maria Mendieta (Harp), Ina Paris (Violin) and two bandoneonists, Eleonora Ferrerya of Argentina and Bettina Hartl of Germany.
A native of Taiwan, Wei began playing the piano at age six and the bass at age twelve. She received her Master of Music degree with honors from the New England Conservatory in Boston and her Bachelor of Music degree with a Performance Certificate from the Eastman School of Music- the first bassist to be awarded such a certificate in twenty years. Her teachers include James Vandemark, Lawrence Wolfe, Stuart Sankey, Jeff Turner, Derek Weller, Peter Dominguez and Claudia Chen.
Wei is the first Double Bass soloist transcribed and performed the famous Chinese Violin Concerto "Butterfly Lovers". It is recorded with pianist Chao-I Chou and is released on Centaur Records in June, 2008.
Review
Yung-chiao Wei, double bass
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall December 5, 2003
Bass players with great technique and supreme artistry are non-existent. Well, there are a few exceptions: the legendary Gary Karr, of course, Eugene Levinson of the New York Philharmonic, and now Yung-chiao Wei, a young, multitalented female bassist from Taiwan. Wei is a phenomenon. She began playing the piano at age six and the double bass at twelve, and has excelled at both, having won the 2003 Taiwan Young Concert Artist Competition, the second prize (no first prize was awarded) and Audience Prize in the 2001 Izuminomori International Double Bass/Cello Competition in Japan, The New World Symphony Concerto Competition. Yung-chiao Wei has appeared at major concert halls around the world including Carnegie Hall, Davis Hall, Jordan Hall, the Isabella Stewart Garden Museum, Ozawa Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, The National Concert Hall of Taiwan and Izuminomori Hall in Japan. Her teachers include James Vandemark, Lawrence Wolfe, Stuart Sankey, Jeff Turner, Derek Weller and Claudia Chen.
She chose difficult repertoire for her December recital. She opened with Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Op. 47, originally for cello, and she played with an extraordinarily expressive, solid tone with impeccable intonation. In Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, Wei, along with her excellent pianist, Vivian Chang-Freiheit, produced very delicate, fine phrasing, always singing lines knowing full aware that Schubert is the master lieder composer. The second movement flowed with a genuine serenity, and the Allegretto was the epitome of effervescent charm. Nuance on the double bass is hard to accomplish, but Wei plays with subtlety of dynamics, color and expression one seldom, if ever, hears on the bass.
After intermission, Wei chose a marvelous unaccompanied contemporary work by David Ellis (b. 1933). The work is fairly brief, but Ellis develops his ideas with solid craftsmanship in a short period of time. She played the work with utter assurance and conviction, and the audience was enamored. The following short works were Chinese National folk melodies by Yan-jun Hua and Pao-yuan Chuang with titles: Reflection of the Moon on Lake Erquan and Song of Grassland. Wei shifted positions with ease and eloquence, singing passionately with her instrument every step of the way. These works had a common modality and mood, however, and performing them back to back on the program wasn’t the best idea. Bottesini’s Nel cor piu non mi sento, Op. 23, which followed, made up for that slight flaw, as she played the work effortlessly in the Italian bel canto style; in other words, she played as if she was on an operatic stage, singing a free, heart-felt Bellini aria. Paganini’s Variations on One String (on a theme from Moses in Egypt) was breathtaking in its virtuosity, yet Wei, with all her impressive technical abilities, still found time to make the music breathe. The fiendishly difficult harmonics in the upper range were pure and in tune; stellar one-string, stunt-like playing on such a notably cumbersome instrument is nothing short of miraculous. Catch Wei in concert soon, before Barnum and Bailey sign her to a contract.
Anthony Aibel
New York Concert Review Inc. Spring 2004
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Students interested in study at Louisiana State University School Of Music are invited to participate in auditions at locations listed below. Louisiana State University School of Music, Baton Rouge, LA, USA Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pintong, Taiwan Auditions are for admission and scholarship purposes. A live audition is encouraged for scholarship consideration. Tape audition is also acceptable. To schedule an audition please call (225)578-2678 or e-mail ywei1@lsu.edu Applications are available on-line at www.music.lsu.edu LSU's scholarship program is one of the most comprehensive and competitive of any school in this geographic region. For international students, TOEFL scores of at least 550 for undergraduate and graduate admission.
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Audition requirements
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Requirements
for Bass Studio (Undergraduate degree)
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2012
Louisiana Bass Festival
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Free
and open to the public
The 2012 Louisiana Double Bass Festival will be held February 12
and 13 at the Louisiana State University School of Music in Baton Rouge.
Guarneri House, the top string instrument repair shop and maker in the
country will be in residence to give an exhibit and work on string
instruments. Guarneri House's vice president, Aaron Reiley, will be
giving a workshop discussing the instrument repair, adjustment, and
related topics. Yung-chiao Wei (Associate Professor of Double Bass) will
give master classes and perform with double bass students in Bass
Ensemble and Recital. Young Bassists interested in participating in the
master class and bass ensemble, please contact Yung-chiao Wei at ywei1@lsu.edu. Schedule
of Events
February
12 February
12 and February 13 Aaron Reiley, Luthier, Aaron has worked with wood all of his life,
growing up around the workshop of Guarneri House. However, his full
potential as a luthier wasn't realized until he began working full-time
for his father. Aaron constructed his first double bass, a Panormo
model, patterned after a double bass owned by concert artist and teacher
Larry Angell. Aaron's first bass received high marks from the judges at
the 2003 International Society of Bassists Makers Competition. Aaron
made (and sold) a second bass for the 2005 ISB Makers Competition and
again received high marks. Aaron made a copy of Edger Meyers Gabrielle
bass and received high praise on his recent tour of Michigan, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New York. Commissions welcome.
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Guest Artist
James
Vandemark, professor of double bass at
Eastman School of
Music, will visit LSU on March 16 - 18,
2002, for bass master classes, recital, and lecture on
career planning.
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| Yung-chiao Wei is
going to hold bass
auditions and master
classes in Taiwan
(Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pintong). For information, please
contact Professor Wei at
ywei1@lsu.edu
or (225)578-2678.
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Upcoming Solo
recital series
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I began playing the piano at age six and the bass at age twelve. I
received my B.M. with a Performance Certificate from the Eastman
School of Music - the first bassist to be awarded such a certificate in
twenty years - and my M.M. with honors from the New England Conservatory.
Currently, I am Associate Professor of Bass at Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge.
I have received many honors, including LSU Tiger Athlete Foundation
Teaching Award, LSU Summer Research Grant, the
Taiwan Young Concert Artist Competition, and the Izuminomori International
Double Bass/Cello Competition (Japan). I have been lucky enough to have
performed at major concert halls and many different festivals around the
world. Following my solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall, one critic from New York Concert Review Inc. described me as a
"phenomenon". In the most recent 2010 International Society of Bassist Magazine, I was
described “The stunning Yung-Chiao Wei pulled the heartstrings of her
audience with a beautiful rendition of Elgar’s cello concerto.”
As a double bassist, one who plays this non-traditional solo instrument, I
am constantly facing many difficulties. Many people might consider me a
“handicap” musician. I am only 5 feet 3 and I have extremely short and
abnormal pinkies. My physical disadvantage has created constant struggle
for me before my professional career started.
In addition to my own physical disadvantage, double bassists also
face problems of having limited repertoire from major composers, not to
mention the struggle of transportation the instrument. In many concerts
overseas, I have experienced unimaginable situations. I was stuck in two foreign countries, Canada and China a
while ago just because the airline personnel would not admit my bass in
their planes.
Often, people ask me why I play such a large instrument. Why not just play
the violin or flute? I sincerely hope that people can feel what I feel and
hear what I hear through performing the bass. There is combination of
warmth, inner depth, power, lyrical and expressive quality in this lowest
and largest string instrument. It is my hope to bring artistry into bass performance, inspire people,
and most importantly, to encourage people to be persistent and dedicated
no mater how impossible things look.
To achieve this goal, I transcribe and perform several significant master works from other string instruments, including the famous Chinese violin concerto Butterfly Lovers, which was released on my first CD from Centaur Records in 2008, Brahms Cello Sonata in e minor, Chopin Cello Sonata, and Elgar Cello Concerto. Through imitation of the Chinese traditional instrument Er-hu, I combine my western classical training with my Asian background. My intention of transcribing these monumental works from major composers is to make music of supreme artistry and variety of color available for bass performance. In spite of physical and technique challenges, it is important to raise the level of performing the bass when more valuable and challenging repertoire is available.
Since my recording was released, I have performed my transcriptions nationally and internationally, including China, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, International Society of Bassist Convention, and many other prestigious top music schools in the country. I have also attracted composers to write music for me to perform on the bass. Furthermore, my collaboration with youth orchestras around the world makes music and my performance more meaningful because I know I am able to reach to the next generation, and hopefully, to bring a life-changing musical experience to each individual.
Yung-chiao Wei’s first CD on Centaur Records, featuring her own transcription of the famous Chinese Violin Concerto “Butterfly Lovers” and Brahms Cello Sonata in e minor was released worldwide in June, 2008. http://www.centaurrecords.com/
She
is now a tenured Associate Professor of Double Bass at Louisiana State
University in Baton Rouge. Her prize includes LSU Tiger Athlete Foundation
Teaching Award, Taiwan Young Concert Artist Competition, both the 2nd
Prize and Audience prize in the Izuminomori International Double
Bass/Cello Competition in Japan, the New World Symphony Concerto
Competition, and many others.
Yung-chiao’s recent Carnegie Hall debut garnered tremendous praise from New York Concert Review Inc. Critic Anthony Aibel, who cited “Wei is a phenomenon”. Her performance of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata in A minor elicited another mention of praise; Aible affirmed that “nuance on the double bass is hard to accomplish, but Wei plays with subtlety of dynamics, color and expression one seldom, if ever, hears on the bass”. For more information about Yung-chiao, please visit www.yungchiao.esmartmusic.com
June, 2008
Youtube YungChiao Wei's Channel
(1) Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
(2) Edward Elgar's "Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85" on Double Bass
movt. 2: Lento — Allegro molto
Double Bass publishers and sources
Bass links in International Society of Bassist
international society of bassist
International Society of Bassist
international double bass competitions
The First Joseph Prunner International Double Bass Competition
The Second Sperger International Double Bass Competition
job opportunity
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada
Louisiana State University home page
Louisiana State University School of Music home page
music competitions
Contact Yung-Chiao at : ywei1@lsu.edu Office: 225/578-2678 Fax: 225/578-2562
Louisiana State University, College of Music and Dramatic Arts 102 New Music Building, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-2502
Site design by: Richard Wei,
outlander_wei@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2003, Yung-chiao Wei.