ViolinPei-Chun Tsai

San Diego Symphony Orchestra violinist Pei-Chun Tsai of Tainan, Taiwan, was a first-prize winner of the Tainan Violin Competition, and went on to win the first prize of the Taiwan National Violin Competition twice. She made her solo debut in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in 1997. She has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician in the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. Pei-Chun has participated in the Alfred, Encore, Yellow Barn and Taos summer music festivals in the United States as well as the Holland Music Session in Amsterdam.

Ms. Tsai completed her Bachelor's and the Master's degrees in violin performance at The Juilliard School where she studied with Joseph Fuchs. In addition, she has studied extensively with Earl Carlyss, Daniel Phillips, Harvey Shapiro and Sally Thomas. She received her DMA in violin performance from the City University of New York in 2010 with her doctoral thesis "Richard Strauss' Violin Writing in His Early Years from 1870 to 1898- The Influence of the Violin Sonata."

In addition to her performing career, Ms. Tsai is a devoted teacher. As a scholarship recipient at The Julliard School, she was on the faculty of the pre-college division, and has been on the faculty of the Lucy Moses School. She holds a Suzuki Teaching Certificate.

Pei-Chun Tsai has been a member of the San Diego Symphony since 2006, and has been on the faculty as Lecturer in Violin at San Diego State University since 2011.

GETTING TO KNOW PEI-CHUN TSAI…

Q: What are three of your favorite movies?

A: Splendor in the Grass, The Reader, Tomorrow

Q: What is your favorite travel destination? 

A: Borrego Springs

Q: What good book have you read most recently? 

A: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Q: What do you love most about San Diego (other than the weather)? 

A: It’s closer to home than New York, but seriously, the zoo. 

Q: What is your choice for dining in San Diego? 

A: Oton, Starlite, Sab-e-lee