PROGRAMME:

Beethoven: Sonata in E flat op. 81a, "Les Adieux"
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, 1st movement (with Jenny Jung)

Interval

Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor
Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata

TICKETS:  General Admission: $30  |  Student: $10
All proceeds go to supporting Tony with his music studies

BIO:

18-year-old Tony Yan Tong Chen is currently in his second year of piano studies at the University of Auckland, studying with Rae de Lisle. In February 2018, he undertook an audition tour of the United States, and has accepted a partial tuition scholarship to study at the Eastman School of Music with Alan Chow commencing in August. He was also awarded substantial scholarships to study at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee College of Music (Boston Conservatory).

In 2017, while simultaneously completing his final year of high school, he entered the University of Auckland under the Young Scholars Program, studying piano with Rae de Lisle, and with Jenny Jung at Macleans College. He has been a semifinalist in the Wallace National Piano Competition, the PACANZ National Young Performer Award (Palmerston North), and the winner of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation’s Alice Cole Piano Scholarship. He has also had performances broadcast on RadioNZ Concert.

During the past few years, he has received 1st prizes at the North Shore, West Auckland, South Auckland, Te Awamutu, Hamilton, Tauranga, APMA, and IRMT scholarship competitions. He previously studied piano with Able Zhu, attaining ATCL and LTCL diplomas with distinction.

In addition to the piano, Tony’s academic achievements include NZQA scholarships in Music and English Literature, and the Top in New Zealand award for both AS and A-level Music subjects in the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). As an accomplished orchestral player, Tony also attained Distinction in DipABRSM Violin and ABRSM Grade 8 in Trumpet and French horn, giving back to the community by playing in ensembles including the Auckland Youth Orchestra, Manukau Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Symphony Orchestra, and Wairua Sinfonietta. His other principal teachers have included Olga Vorontsova (violin), Nigel Weeks (trumpet), and Anthony Webster (horn).

During his time at Macleans College, he appeared as a concerto soloist with the Macleans Symphony Orchestra, performing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto at the KBB music festival and the Vodafone Events Centre. He also served as the concertmaster of the orchestra, the trumpet principal of the concert band and stage band, and appeared as a violin concerto soloist with the chamber orchestra. He was also a prizewinner in the Art Exhibition, a School Prefect, and the winner of the Performer of the Year and Junior Cultural Cup awards.