About Sicong Chen
Born in Beijing, China, Sicong Chen began studying violin at age 12 with one of China's most distinguished violin pedagogues, Xiongda Jiang. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in Violin Performance at Arizona State University, and served there as a New American Scholar and Graduate Teaching Assistant under Professor Danwen Jiang.
Chen made his solo debut in 2012, performing alongside the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Forbidden City Concert Hall. Since then, Chen has appeared as a soloist and ensemble musician in venues all across the globe. Recent season highlights include his performances at the Beijing Concert Hall, the Millenium Monument Concert Hall, the Zhongshan Concert Hall, the China National Library Concert Hall, the Gammage Concert Hall, the Kaufman Music Center, the Rivercenter, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Chen also made his recording debut in 2015, featuring works by his first teacher Xiongda Jiang, alongside the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Chen has received top awards in the Sicong Ma National Violin Competition, Hong Kong International Violin Competition, Schoenfeld International String Competition, Hong Kong International Chamber Music Competition, China Hummingbird Chamber Music Competition, Atlanta Music Club Competition, Schwob School of Music Concerto Competition, LaGrange Symphony Young Artists Competition, and Grand Prix International Music Award.
Chen has additionally served as concertmaster throughout his studies at the Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra and the Schwob Philharmonic, and as a member of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Panama City Symphony Orchestra. Chen is an experienced ensemble leader and enjoys collaborating with his peers, educators, and acclaimed artists through chamber music and orchestral playing. Chen has performed alongside artists including Vadim Repin, Cho-Liang Lin, Sergiu Schwartz, Boris Kuchnir, Nicholaj Znaider, Andrès Cardenes, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Cho-Liang Lin, Boris Abramov, Jason Vieaux, Demonic Cheli, Benjamin Beilman, JP Jofre, Ester Park, Branson Yeast, and Luca Lombardi. He has been featured by news outlets such as Germany's Sulzbach-Rosenberg Stadt and Japan’s Kobe Shimbun, being noted as an extraordinary classical musician.
Chen has appeared as a soloist with the Beijing Youth Orchestra with maestro Xiongda Jiang, the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra with Sir Richard Prior, the Schwob Philharmonic Orchestra, the CSU Virtuosi Ensemble with conductor Sergiu Schwartz, the Northern Arizona Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Desmond Siu, and Blue Morpho Orchestra with maestro Ensluis Montes Olivar. In 2018, he was invited as a guest artist for the International Clarinet Festival in Ostende, Belgium.
Since 2021, Sicong Chen has been studying in the violin studio of Sergiu Schwartz, the William B. and Sue Marie Turner Distinguished Faculty Chair in Violin, as a Graduate Assistant at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. As of 2021, he acts as an Ambassador for the Vargas Music Foundation, teaching and mentoring young aspiring talents. In 2023, Chen co-founded the Aestas String Quartet, the Graduate String Quartet in residence at the Schwob School of Music. Sicong is using 1967 Mario Gadda Violin and W.E. Hill & Son Bow.