CCM Doctoral student chosen to judge international violin competition

Junqi Tang was a judge at the Hong Kong International Violin Competition & Chamber Music Competition

Junqi (Sophie) Tang, a DMA Violin student at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, was recently invited to serve on a distinguished panel of judges for the 2021 Hong Kong International Violin Competition and Chamber Music Competition. Sponsored by the Asia Musicians Association, the competition attracts performers from all over the world including Germany, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Russia and more.

A headshot of Junqi Tang

Junqi Tang. Photo/Provided

“I am thrilled to be serving on the jury in helping discover the next generation of talented artists who perform at the highest level from all over the world," Tang says. "It is my goal to inspire and enrich the lives of young people through knowledge and experience.”

Tang is the only American-based panel judge invited to serve on the panel this year and previously won first prize in the 2019 Hong Kong International Music Festival Competition. The panel of judges is made up of well-known international concert performers and educators who are each considered a leader in their professional fields. In addition to Tang, judges include Jiang Xiongda, Zhou Mingen and Xu Yue. More than 1000 international participants competed in the first round of the competition, with 14 professional-level finalists and 140 student competitors in the final round.

While she pursues her DMA at CCM, Tang is also part of the violin faculty at the University of Toledo. A student of CCM Professor Kurt Sassmannshaus, Tang has performed with Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony and Toledo Symphony. She is also the music director of the Cincinnati Music and Arts Society and the artistic director of the HanTong International Music Festival, where she initiated virtual string music festivals and a series of international master classes.

Junqi Tang joined the violin faculty of the University of Toledo School of Music in 2018. She serves as the artistic director of the Hantong International Music Festival, and the music director at the Cincinnati Music and Arts Society. She has been a First Prize winner in the 2019 Hong Kong International Music Festival, an excellent performance award of 2016 Schoenfeld International String Competition and First Prize in the American String Teachers Association Competition in Los Angeles in 2013. As an accomplished orchestral musician, she has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottowa Canada, and the Toledo Symphony.

Tang received her Doctoral degree from CCM, studying with Kurt Sassmannshaus, and a Master of Music Degree at the University of Southern California under Suli Xue in 2013. She is a Bachelor of Music degree recipient at Renmin University of China under Hsiaowei Chen, and an Artist Diploma recipient at the McDuffie Center for Strings.  Her former teachers/mentors include Robert McDuffie, David Halen, Amy Moretti, Gregory Lee, Yuxi Liu and Lingwei Xu.

A devout teacher, Tang has over 10 years of teaching experience in universities. In addition to the University of Toledo, she has taught as faculty member of the Starling Preparatory Program at CCM and at the Great Wall International Music Academy in Beijing. She has worked with internationally renowned faculty and soloists including Kurt Sassmanshaus, Amanda Forsyth, David Halen, James Dunham, Grigory Kalinovsky, Giora Schmidt, Gabriel Pegis, Ilya Finkelshteyn, Darret Adkins and Jonathan Vinocour. Her students have been top prize winners at the China-Korea International Violin Competition, the Hong Kong International Violin Competition, Schoenfeld International String Competition Aficionado Division and the University of Toledo concerto competition. Her students have received full scholarships to attend the Texas Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Hantong International Music Festival and Sounding Point Academy.

As an avid chamber musician, she was the founding violinist of Cincinnatus String Quartet, and continues to lead a chamber music festival in Cincinnati with her directing the Cincinnati Music and Arts Society. Her organization provides profound social impact in the arts for the entire Cincinnati area and has included presenting artists like Mattias Pintscher, Alisa Weilerstein and Alexander Kazovsky.

Tang has also participated in many distinguished music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Asian Youth Orchestra, National Arts Center in Canada, Sarasota Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Great Wall International Music Festival. She soloed with the Glazounov Concerto with the Starling Chamber Orchestra. She has recorded "Romance for Violin" by Antonin Dvořák, and is featured on violinmasterclass.com. She was a premier member of the International YouTube Symphony in 2011 under maestro Michael Tilson Thomas, and performed in the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa under the baton of maestro Pinchas Zukerman.


Headshot of Kelly Barefield

Kelly Barefield

CCM Graduate Assistant, Marketing + Communications

Kelly Barefield is pursuing her degree in Arts Administration at CCM. She currently interns at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and hopes to continue to work at influential arts organizations in the future, where she can apply her passion for music.

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