Wanchi studied both piano and violin in her native Taiwan. Though she had won several youth piano competitions as a child, she eventually opted to concentrate on the violin “because I could take the violin anywhere I wanted.” She chose well. At age 14, she made her solo debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Catherine Comet. Wanchi is the Full Professor of Violin at James Madison University School of Music and serves as concertmaster of the Waynesboro Symphony.
Her recordings of the complete Sonatas of Eugène Ysaÿe, Partitas and Sonatas of J.S. Bach for unaccompanied violin, and music by William Walton and Benjamin Britten in a collaboration with longtime friend and pianist Robert Koenig, all on the Centaur Records label, have been excellently reviewed. (“. . . her incisive technique and an exceptionally rich and beautiful tone. . .” by Phil’s Classical Reviews, Audio Video Club of Atlanta).
She is an active performer in chamber music, solo recitals, and as a soloist with regional orchestras throughout North America and Asia, at venues including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Curtis on Tour, and numerous music festivals in the world. Wanchi joined Heifetz Institute faculty in the Summer of 2023 and has been a strings adjudicator for various international and national competitions. As an educator, she presented numerous times at ASTA National Conferences and has given many violin masterclasses internationally. Many of her students are now successful arts administrators, educators, and performers. Her degrees are from The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Indiana University (Bloomington). She plays a modern American violin made in 2003 by Feng Jiang of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Wanchi studied both piano and violin in her native Taiwan. Though she had won several youth piano competitions as a child, she eventually opted to concentrate on the violin “because I could take the violin anywhere I wanted.” She chose well. At age 14, she made her solo debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Catherine Comet. Wanchi is the Full Professor of Violin at James Madison University School of Music and serves as concertmaster of the Waynesboro Symphony.
Her recordings of the complete Sonatas of Eugène Ysaÿe, Partitas and Sonatas of J.S. Bach for unaccompanied violin, and music by William Walton and Benjamin Britten in a collaboration with longtime friend and pianist Robert Koenig, all on the Centaur Records label, have been excellently reviewed. (“. . . her incisive technique and an exceptionally rich and beautiful tone. . .” by Phil’s Classical Reviews, Audio Video Club of Atlanta).
She is an active performer in chamber music, solo recitals, and as a soloist with regional orchestras throughout North America and Asia, at venues including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Curtis on Tour, and numerous music festivals in the world. Wanchi joined Heifetz Institute faculty in the Summer of 2023 and has been a strings adjudicator for various international and national competitions. As an educator, she presented numerous times at ASTA National Conferences and has given many violin masterclasses internationally. Many of her students are now successful arts administrators, educators, and performers. Her degrees are from The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Indiana University (Bloomington). She plays a modern American violin made in 2003 by Feng Jiang of Ann Arbor, Michigan.