Mid-Michigan music lovers have lucked into a rare and memorable series of concerts. The same exciting violin virtuoso will perform for the third time in less than two years at Wharton Center.
Ray Chen, a magnetic, crowd-pleasing phenom, will be appearing as soloist with one of the world’s great ensembles, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra based in London, on Jan. 26.
Chen, 36, was just at Wharton in October soloing with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, performing the Bruch Violin Concerto. Before that he played a solo recital there in March of 2024.
Now he will be returning to delight audiences with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, a great romantic showpiece, with the Royal Phil, under its conductor, Vasily Petrenko. This American tour celebrates the orchestra’s 80th anniversary.
The philharmonic is known not only for its finely-honed classical repertoire but also for providing the music for many popular movies — “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Titanic” among others — and video games.
When performing with the LSO in the fall, Chen’s performance brought the audience to its feet. As soon as he began playing, it was apparent he was a different level of violinist than many others. His rich tone, although not loud, filled the entire Great Hall up to the balcony with its intensity. The warmth of his playing, dazzling technique and charisma thrilled the crowd.
Born in Taiwan, Chen is the embodiment of the 21st-century classical artist. In addition to performing about 120 concerts per year internationally, his warm personality has helped make him a star on social media. His videos are a combination of violin-geeky discussions of various soloists and their interpretations of major violin concertos, along with humorous clips of Chen backstage rehearsing and preparing for concerts.
The videos are entertaining and informative, and he seems to enjoy being in front of the camera.
“I started to develop those videos during Covid when musicians were not playing concerts,” Chen said. “I wanted to reach out to the audience even though I couldn’t give concerts.”
Chen said he thinks of his concerts as collaborative events. He is deeply aware of the orchestra he is performing with as well as the audience in front of him. As he tours the world, Chen performs with a wide variety of orchestras with different abilities.
“My job as the soloist is to assess each orchestra and find ways that we can work together to make the best concert,” Chen said. “I may hear that one section of the ensemble is stronger than another (strings or horns or basses) and I try to make those sections stronger with my playing.”
Chen, however, has a long history performing with the Royal Philharmonic.
“I have played with the Royal Phil many times over the years,” he said. “We have also recorded together. So I know the orchestra very well and when we play together, it is very comfortable.”
Chen, who grew up in Australia, began to learn the violin at age 4 through the Suzuki method, which is very popular in the Lansing area.
“I loved the Suzuki method,” Suzuki said. “The feeling of camaraderie among the students was great and the music in the study books was challenging and beautiful to play.”
Chen remembers his teacher sitting in his chair, with all the students sitting around him, and he would ask, “Who would like to play a solo today?” The 4-year-old Chen was always first to raise his hand.
Did people call him talented that early in his life?
“Sure,” Chen said. “But for me, talented, means that you can learn things faster than other kids and forget things slower. Being a prodigy is a different story.”
Things moved quickly for Chen. He came to the US at age 16 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music where he was classmates with Lansing’s own violin virtuoso, Melissa White.
Now he has played with all the great orchestras of the world. And he’ll soon be back yet again in mid-Michigan.
If you go
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Ray Chen, violin soloist
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan 26
Where: Cobb Great Hall in the Wharton Center
Tickets: From $52, Youth $22
For information: whartoncenter.com, call (517) 432-2000 or 1-800-WHARTON
If you want to read more from Ken Glickman, follow his blog GlickArts @ Substack.com
