Robert Chen

Robert Chen (陳慕融; pinyin: Chén Mùróng) has been concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1999. His activities as a soloist include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin, NDR Orchestra of Hannover, and Bournemouth Symphony. In 2000 he made his Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerto debut with Maestro Daniel Barenboim. In 2003 he gave the Chicago Symphony orchestra premiere of the Elliott Carter Violin Concerto. He has also performed with youth orchestras, such as in March 2006, when he performed with ECYS,a Palo-Alto based internationally-recognized youth orchestra, as a substitute for David Kim.

As a chamber musician, Chen has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and Yo Yo Ma, both at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and at Carnegie Hall in New York.

A native of Taiwan, Chen began his violin studies at the age of seven. Three years later, he and his family moved to Los Angeles where he studied with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School. While in Los Angeles, he also participated in the Jascha Heifetz master classes. Mr. Chen received both Bachelor's and Master's of music degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. In addition to his performing career, Mr. Chen is is a member of the violin faculty at Roosevelt University, Chicago.