The Met Orchestra concertmaster, soloist, chamber musician, and veteran instructor to begin at Shepherd School in fall 2025
April 10, 2025 — The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University is proud to announce the appointment of David Chan as Professor of Violin, starting full time in the fall of 2025. Chan joins Shepherd’s violin faculty after 25 seasons as concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and as a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music.
“This appointment results from Shepherd’s decades-long initiative to build one of the finest orchestral programs in the country,” said Matthew Loden, the Lynette S. Autrey Dean of Music at Shepherd. “David’s vast experience with the orchestral and operatic repertoire and his gift for teaching the next generation of talent is a perfect fit for Shepherd’s ensemble-building focus. That our graduates are joining top-ranking orchestras around the world can largely be attributed to our distinguished faculty and specialized instruction. We’re very fortunate to welcome David to that illustrious group as we continue to celebrate our 50th anniversary.”
At Shepherd, Chan will maintain a full violin studio, teach orchestral repertoire, coach students in chamber music through individualized instruction, and help lead creative labs, where students will workshop new commissions, focus on ensemble readings, and develop new creative practices. The Shepherd School continues to advance cross-discipline initiatives that can result in new musical works on themes relating to the environment, health, and virtual reality, among other things. Chan joins Shepherd’s current violin faculty members Paul Kantor, Cho-Liang Lin, and Kathleen Winkler.
“David’s multifaceted career is awe-inspiring,” said Winkler, the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Classical Violin, who served as chair of the search committee. “He is a world-class soloist, a devoted educator and mentor, and the esteemed director of music festivals and leadership programs worldwide. The breadth of knowledge and expertise he will bring to the Shepherd School of Music is sensational. We are all thrilled to have him join our ranks.”
“I’ve had the privilege of making music at the very highest level for the past 25 years in one of the world’s great orchestras,” said Chan. “Now the time has come in my career to share everything I’ve learned with the young people who represent the future of our magnificent art. Joining the fantastic community of colleagues and students at Rice is the perfect opportunity to do that.”
A native of San Diego, Chan has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, appearing as a soloist with orchestras including the Met Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Taiwan National Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, and San Diego, Indianapolis, Richmond, Springfield, and Northbrook symphony orchestras. He also appears frequently as a guest artist at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.
Chan has also quickly made a name for himself as an elegant conductor of unusual interpretive depth. He was recently named Artistic Director of the Taipei Music Academy and Festival, one of the world’s preeminent educational festivals. He also serves as Principal Conductor of the Apollo Orchestra in the Washington, D.C. area, and as Director of the Credo Festival, an orchestral institute held annually in Chicago’s Symphony Center.
After winning prizes at the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis international violin competitions, Chan made his New York debut in 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall, and his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, performing Brahms’s Double Concerto with the Met Orchestra. A student of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and Michael Tseitlin, he received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his master’s from The Juilliard School.
Chan will move to Houston this summer with his wife, the violinist Catherine Ro, and their children Annalise, Micah, and Arianna. Over the next two years, he will gradually phase out of his roles at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, where he has been Head of the Orchestral Performance program. As an interim step, the Metropolitan Opera has granted Chan a one-year leave of absence.
Learn more about the Shepherd School here.