Mercedes Cheung
BIOGRAPHY
Canadian Chinese violinist, Mercedes Cheung (Zhang梅賽得斯), speaks fluent French, English, Mandarin, German, and Spanish. Mercedes has already performed in some of the greatest international scenes, including her Carnegie Hall debut recital in 2012 where she featured the complete Paganini's 24 Caprices by heart at age 10. She is the youngest ever to have recorded Paganini's 24 Caprices on DVD and CD, all in one take, released in May 2012. Mercedes gave her public solo debut recital at six years old, performing a two-hour long artistic and virtuosic program by heart at Flato Markham Theatre, Canada. In her orchestral debut at age 10, she performed Vivaldi's "Winter" Concerto from The Four Seasons with the Markham String Chamber Orchestra at Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. A month later, she performed as soloist in Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen with the Markham Symphony Orchestra at Flato Markham Theatre. At age 12, Mercedes was one of 12 gifted violinists around the world (up to age 27), selected to participate in the 2014 Crans-Montana Classics Master Classes in Switzerland with a full scholarship. She was chosen by Shlomo Mintz to solo with him and gave a dazzling performance of Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins with the National Chamber Ensemble
"Kiev Soloists" at the closing concert in "Centre de Congres Le Regent". Mercedes won the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Soloist Competition and performed with the Orchestra in its 2015-16 Season in Boston. On October 30, 2014, Toronto TV broadcasted Mercedes' Solo Violin Recital at Flato Markham Theatre for Performing Arts in the Diamond Series Artists Concerts and she will return to perform again in the 2019-20 season. Mercedes was the Silver Medalist in the 2014 "Teen's Talent Show" - American Youth Talent and Arts Competition in New York.
Mercedes has been awarded full scholarships from five major institutes namely the Yale University School of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists of the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. Mercedes has been interviewed and documented by international and national televisions and radio stations, and almost all television stations and newspapers in Canada. Television stations include Sinovision (New York), “Canada AM” National TV, City TV, Rogers, Fairchild, Omni, Talentvision and CTV. She was invited to be a guest performer and was interviewed on air by TVOKids for their special "Music" Day which aired on Christmas and New Year's Day 2013. Radio stations include Toronto Newstalk 1010 and Buffalo WNED Classical FM 94.5. Online and local newspapers include Sing Tao Daily, Ming Pao, World Journal, Markham Economist and Sun, and Markham Review, and Whole Note & "Toronto Life" Magazines. Mercedes was also featured in full pages of "Le Nouvelliste" and "Sixième Dimension" newspapers of Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Mercedes was the Winner of the prestigious 2010 Achievement and Civic Recognition Award (ACRA) in the Cultural Category (Markham, Canada) along with two other category winners: Seneca College President, David Agnew (Technology Award) & Co-Founders of "Free the Children", Craig & Marc Kielburger (Community Award). In May 2023, she has received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance with full scholarship at Cleveland Institute of Music. She has also taken two minors in Business Management and Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University.
Currently, Mercedes is awarded full scholarship and fellowship at Yale University School of Music with Soovin Kim to further her Master of Music in Violin Performance and continuing under the tutelage of her father Ephraim Cheung. She also gives secondary and undergrad violin lessons at Yale. Mercedes has studied at Cleveland Institute of Music with Ilya Kaler (3 International Violin Competition Gold Medalist: Tchaikovsky, Paganini & Sibelius), at Juilliard School Pre-College and New England Conservatory with Donald Weilerstein, Li Lin, and Ephraim Cheung, as well as Kim Kashkashian. She has performed in master classes and has taken lessons with Shlomo Mintz, Zakhar Bron, David Cerone, Sungsic Yang, Robert Lipsett, Albert Markov, Joel Smirnoff, and Paul Kantor. Mercedes was invited twice to perform as a young artist at the Banff Summer Music Festival Concerts in 2011 and 2013 by Artistic Director Barry Shiffman. She substituted as Concertmaster for Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra's Christmas Concerts on December 22 and 23, 2018 in Oshawa, Canada. Upon the successful concerts, she was appointed as Concertmaster and Co-Concertmaster by the Music Director Marco Parisotto, who also invited her to solo Bach's Double Concerto for Two Violins in the March 2019 concert. Mercedes has also been Co-Concertmaster at the Markham Symphony Orchestra in Canada from 2017 to 2019. Her solo recitals include: January 12, 2019, at Paul Hall in Lincoln Center, New York, and Young Artists Concert Series at St. Gregory's Woodstock, New York, has scheduled on April 28th 2019. Mercedes' interview by Fairchild TV (新時代電視) on the well-known TV show - "Dacheng Xiaoju" (大城小聚) has been broadcasted on June 2nd, 2019. She has been invited to solo Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major, with Toronto Concert Orchestra, to celebrate Beethoven's 250th Anniversary, presented by Flato Markham Theatre's Diamond Artists Subscription Concert Series in 2019 - 2020 Season; a four-city concert tour as a soloist in Canada is planning during the season as well. Mercedes has been active as a chamber musician and teacher while she was studying at Cleveland Institute of Music. She has been selected to participate in the Advanced String Quartet Program and Intensive Duo, working with Phillip Setzer, Todd Phillips, and Jaime Laredo. Mercedes has also worked with Barry Shiffman at Royal Conservatory of Music and Orli Shaham (Gil Shaham's sibling) at Juilliard School in chamber music. In 2023, her string quartet was awarded first prize at the Glass City Chamber Music Competition. Mercedes performs on a 1623 Giovanni Paolo Maggini violin.