Mr James Chen
Violin teacher
Australian violinist James Chen has performed internationally as a soloist and has appeared in recitals in France at the Music Alp festival and in Weimar recently. He
attended the Royal Academy of Music with a full scholarship studying under the mentorship of
Rodney Friend. He was also the only Australian to be invited to the Paganini International Violin
Competition (2021) and Sendai International Violin Competition (2022).
His diverse ensemble experience includes being awarded the prestigious MMSF Instrumental
Fellowship with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. This has allowed him to work as a section
member and co-leader for the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as perform solo recitals across the UK in
2022. In 2018 he was also a fellow for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ultimately resulting in a
successful casual audition for the orchestra in 2018. In 2022, he collaborated with principals of notable
orchestras including the Berlin Philharmoniker, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Royal Scottish
National Orchestra in a series of chamber music concerts as part of the Hellensmusic Festival in the
UK.
Recently, he has received masterclasses from prominent musicians such as Gyorgy Pauk, Augustin
Hadelich, Yuzuko Horigome, Joel Smirnoff, James Ehnes and Roman Simovic. His latest festival
highlights include taking part in the Hellensmusic Festival, Talent Music Festival, Weimar
Masterclasses studying with Midori, MusicAlp festival studying with Dong-Suk Kang and the Friends
International Violin Academy receiving guidance from several renowned professors. He recently
received awards from the Australian Music Foundation as well as the Tait Memorial Trust in 2021.
James’ teaching experience includes being a teaching assistant to his teacher, Rodney Friend, at the
Royal Academy of Music alongside four years of private teaching experience. He was also an
ambassador for the Benedetti Foundation in 2021 where he led music education projects throughout
the UK. He has also led many other music education initiatives in the UK during his time as a member
of the Philharmonia Orchestra.