Biography

Philip Chiu
In his short career, pianist Philip Chiu has had great success as an accompanist, chamber musician, and soloist. He has been widely acclaimed for the brilliance and sensitivity of his playing, as well as for his ability to communicate with audiences. Second prize winner of the 2007 Bösendorfer National Piano Competition, Philip Chiu has appeared recently in the Glenn Gould Studio, the Stratford Summer Music Festival, and the Orford Arts Centre Festival. Last year, he also performed about twenty concerts with pianist Janelle Fung on a JMC tour.

In addition to collaborating with fellow young musicians, Philip Chiu has also had the honour of performing with such artists as the renowned erhu player George Gao, Joel Quarrington, Jonathan Crow, and Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. He is also an avid chamber musician, and has been coached by such artists as William Preucil, Tsutsumi Tsuyoshi, Jacques Rouvier, and André Roy.

Philip Chiu holds an ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Performance Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of Music. He has studied with Jenny Regehr and is currently working with Marc Durand and Jimmy Brière at the Université de Montréal.

Janelle Fung
Janelle Fung made her professional debut at the age of 14 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has appeared with the Seattle Symphony, the Orchestre de Lyon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Eastman Philharmonic, and Rochester Chamber Orchestra. She has concertized extensively throughout the United States and Canada, and has made concert tours of France, Italy, South Korea, and Japan. Highlights of the past year include concerts with flutist Carol Wincence at Merkin Hall in New York City and the National Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., as well as solo concerts for Rockefeller University in New York City and Princeton University. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Fung has appeared in concert with the Ying Quartet, New York Woodwind Quintet, soprano Teresa Stratas, and baritone William Warfield.

Ms. Fung has been a prize winner in numerous national and international competitions, including the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition, the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, the Montreal Symphony Competition, and the Canadian Music Competition. She has also been heard on the CBC, NPR, and Radio France.

Ms. Fung is a founding member of Alarm Will Sound, a Rochester-based organization specializing in the research and performance of the music of our time. As a member of Alarm Will Sound, Ms. Fung has collaborated with composers such as George Crumb, Steve Reich, David Lang, and Bright Sheng; recorded the works of Steve Reich on the Nonesuch label; and enjoyed a residency at Columbia University’s Miller Theater.

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Janelle Fung began her piano studies at the age of four. Her principal teachers have included Nelita True, Julian Martin, Seymour Lipkin and Jacques Rouvier. Ms. Fung received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School of Music. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Université de Montréal, where she studies with Marc Durand.