Chao, Evelina (1949-Present)

Violist from Chicago, Illinois, who grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and started playing violin when she was eight years old. She attended Juilliard, Oberlin College and the State University of New York in Binghamton, from whence she acquired a master’s in chamber music. Her teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Ivan Galamian, Samuel Kissel and William Lincer.

She became a member of the Amici Quartet in 1973. Other groups with whom she has worked include the Arlington Symphony, the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, the Bakken Trio, the Chopin Society, the Fairfax Symphony, the Fine Arts Quartet, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Lake Winnipesaukee Chamber Players, the National Symphony, the Pacifica Quartet, the Penderecki Quartet and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

In 1982, she became the assistant principal violist of the SPCO.

She is also a writer. In 1987, Warner Books published her debut novel, entitled Gates of Grace.

In the field of music education, she served on the faculty of the Madeline Island Music Camp from 1989.

Music is not all she teaches. She received her life coach certification from the Coaches Institute, which is located in San Raphael, California, in 2000. In 2001, she founded her own firm, Commit to Change.

She and cellist Sarah Lewis and flautist Alicia McQuerrey recorded Erwin Schulhoff’s “Concertino” on 9^th November 2003.

In August 2004, the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society appeared at the Hillside Theater in Spring Green, the Music Hall at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the Opera House in Stoughton. Their program comprised the aforementioned “Concertino” by Erwin Schulhoff, “Quintet” by Antonin Dvorak, “Ritournelle” by Vitezslava Kapralova and “Sonata” by Leos Janacek.

Somehow she found time to pen a memoir about Zhao Tzu Chen, her grandfather, who was the Dean at YenChing University, as well as a philosopher, poet and religious scholar. St. Martin’s Press published the book, Yeh Yeh’s House, in December 2004.

On 29^th July 2005, the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society appeared at Mineral Point Opera House when they performed “Chants de Linos” by Andre Jolivet, “The Masque of the Red Death” by Andre Caplet, “Quintet, Op. 115” by Gabriel Faure and “Sonata” by Claude Debussy.

Members of the SPCO interpreted Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg concertos at the SPCO Center’s Music Room and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in December 2007.

On 7^th February 2008, she and violinists Dale Barltrop and Nina Tso-Ning Fan and cellist Joshua Koestenbaum performed “Different Trains” by Steve Reich in the Huss Music Room at SPCO Center.

Difficult times arrived in the summer of 2012 as the SPCO board and its musicians struggled to negotiate a new contract. Negotiations stalled and that resulted in a lock-out. Utilizing her writing skills, Evelina authored an article entitled “Fearing for ‘our orchestra, as we know it’” which appeared in the Pioneer Press and on twincities.com. Another one of her articles, “Chamber orchestra’s reputation on line” was published by the Star Tribune and featured on its website.

Recordings on which she appears include: All for You by Janet Jackson; As Water to the Thirsty by David Haas; Instruments of Peace by Marty Haugen; Ives/Schulhoff/Dvorak: Chamber Works; Just for You by Gladys Knight; Lifescapes: Relaxing Strings; Make Him Do Right by Karyn White; Motown Come Home; Provocative by Johnny Gill; and, Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence/Arensky: Quartet, Op. 35 with the Lake Winnipesaukee Chamber Players.

In addition to her aforementioned work with the Madeline Island Music Camp, she has also coached chamber music, given master classes and taught at Indiana University.

She performs here…

Sources:

Chao, Evelina (1949-Present)

Navigation