Program

Full Program (PDF)

About the Artists

Sophia Szokolay

Canadian violinist Sophia Anna Szokolay has performed across Canada, the United States and Europe as a recitalist and chamber musician. She is a Doctoral Candidate at the New England Conservatory and Chamber Music Faculty at NEC’s Preparatory School.

This year, Sophia was featured on WGBH live public radio, she joined Palaver Strings on their album release tour Ready or Not, and led the Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra as concertmaster. She enjoyed working with composers Tyshawn Sorey, Shulamit Ran, Hans Abrahamsen and Lewis Spratlan at the 2022 YellowBarn and Lucerne Festivals.

As a soloist, Sophia has performed with A Far Cry, the Etobicoke Philharmonic, Győr Philharmonic, Narragansett Bay Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, and Toronto Sinfonietta. Equally at home with chamber and orchestral repertoire, Sophia plays with the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Phoenix Chamber Orchestra. Her love of new music has previously led to work with composers Brett Dean, John Heiss, David Ludwig, James MacMillan, and Jörg Widmann. In 2021 she gave the North American premiere of Widmann’s String Quartet No. 7.

Sophia held Teaching and Community Engagement Fellowships at The Juilliard School where she worked with violin and music theory students at Opportunity Music Project and at Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School. In 2020, she performed online for ICU Covid-19 patients and their families across the United States with Project: Music Heals Us, she curated an online Music and Movement class for toddlers and led music appreciation workshops at Lenox Hill Women’s Shelter.

Sophia received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory with a Minor in Music Theory, and her Master’s Degree from Juilliard. Her teachers include Catherine Cho, Miriam Fried, and Donald Weilerstein.

Sophia’s passions also include photography and running. She is training for the TCS Toronto Marathon in October 2022.

Yandi Chen

Chinese Pianist Yandi Chen has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in China, France, Italy, Japan and the United States. He is a recipient of numerous prizes and awards and has appeared as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra, New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Fort Worth Symphony. Yandi is currently pursuing his Doctoral of Musical Arts in Chamber Music at the New England Conservatory, studying with Vivian Weilerstein. He was appointed as a Teaching Assistant in NEC’s music theory department and coaches chamber music ensembles with NEC’s Preparatory School.

Yandi has appeared at notable music festivals including the Texas International Piano Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Fontainebleau, the Belcanto Festival, the Perlman Music Program, and Chamber Music Northwest. He has had the privelodge of performing alongside artists including Itzhak Perlman, Donald Weilerstein, Donald Palma, and the Borromeo String Quartet. In-demand as a collaborator, he regularly plays in recitals, faculty studio classes and lessons at NEC.

Born in Shanghai, China, Yandi graduated from Shanghai Music School and Conservatory in 2012, where he studied with Prof. Dan Shao and Ting Zhou. Yandi holds a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and a Master’s from Yale University. He is currently studying collaborative piano with Vivian Hornik Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory of Music.