梅賽德斯·張
BIOGRAPHY
19 歲的小提琴家梅賽德斯·張 (Mercedes Cheung) 曾在一些最偉大的國際舞台上演出,包括她於 2012 年 12 月在卡內基音樂廳的首場獨奏會,她在 10 歲時將帕格尼尼的 24 首隨想曲全部用心演繹。她也是 2012 年 5 月發行的 CD 和 DVD 中最年輕的一次錄製。
梅賽德斯出生於加拿大,四歲時開始從她父親 Ephraim Cheung 那裡學習小提琴。六歲時,她在弗拉托馬卡姆劇院(加拿大)進行了長達兩小時的藝術表演,並進行了首場獨奏音樂會。在很小的時候,梅賽德斯在 7 歲的 10 級小提琴考試中獲得了皇家音樂學院的一等榮譽,9 歲獲得了小提琴表演的 ARCT。在她十歲的管弦樂首演中,她在列治文山表演藝術中心與馬克姆室內樂團合作演奏了維瓦爾第的四個季節的“冬天”。不久之後,她在弗拉托馬克姆劇院與馬克姆交響樂團合作演奏了薩拉薩蒂的《Zigeunerweisen》。
2011年和2013年,梅賽德斯被藝術總監巴里·希夫曼邀請作為客座藝術家在班夫音樂節音樂會上演出。 12 歲時,她與全球 11 位天才小提琴家一起被選中參加 2014 年在瑞士舉辦的克萊恩蒙大拿古典大師班,並獲得全額獎學金。梅賽德斯還被什洛莫·明茨選中,與他以及小提琴家達米·金和漢娜·塔利一起在攝政中心舉行的閉幕音樂會上與國家室內樂團“基輔獨奏家”合作演奏維瓦爾第的四把小提琴協奏曲。
梅賽德斯目前在克利夫蘭音樂學院學習,獲得全額獎學金,師從 Ilya Kaler 和她的父親 Ephraim Cheung。此前,她還曾在紐約茱莉亞學院預科師從唐納德·韋勒斯坦 (Donald Weilerstein) 和李琳 (Li Lin) 學習。她曾在眾多大師班上演出,並與包括大衛·塞羅內、扎哈爾·布朗、羅伯特·利普塞特、喬爾·斯米爾諾夫、什洛莫·明茨、保羅·坎特、金·卡什卡什安和林恩·張在內的世界知名藝術家一起上課。此外,她還與 Barry Shiffman、Phillip Setzer、Orli Shaham 和 Todd Phillips 一起接受過室內樂輔導。
梅賽德斯使用 1623 年喬瓦尼·保羅·馬吉尼 (Giovanni Paolo Maggini) 小提琴演奏。
"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.