Yu Ouyang, MM, BM Violin
Born and raised in Hunan, China, Yu Ouyang started her career as a violinist at age thirteen. She has performed in numerous venues worldwide such as Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Taiwan National Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, and Hong Kong Concert Hall. As a soloist, she has the unique talent to influence audiences with her passionate and warm-hearted playing.
Ms. Ouyang’s outstanding playing skill and leadership makes her as a concertmaster in several orchestras, including Shanghai Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, Asian Young Orchestra, Montclair State University Symphony Orchestra and currently serving as the concertmaster of Rutgers Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond being a soloist, her easy-going personality and creative musical ideas open the opportunity for her to be the first violinist with diverse chamber groups, including string quartets, piano trios and clarinet quintets. The genre of chamber music she performs is not only limited to classical music but also contemporary music too. In 2013, she performed Tan Dun’s Water Havens. Tan Dun complimented on her outstanding performance, “You are a violinist with talent, creative and passion”. In 2018, Ms. Ouyang and her friends, Alexander Bui (piano) and Jiun-ru Wang (cello) found The Raritan Trio. Later, they won the 1st Place in Charleston Classical Music Competition in 2021 and the 3rd Place in The American Prize in 2019. Currently, she is a member of Hunan Musicians Association.
During the college, Ms. Ouyang studied viola as the second major at Montclair State University under the guidance of Honggang Li who is the violist of Shanghai Quartet. As a violist, she plays in several chamber groups including Yogurt String Quartet and String Orchestra of Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Being a passionate and energetic teacher, Ms. Ouyang teaches a wide variety of students, ranging from young kids to adults, and as small as individual lessons to large group classes in both Shanghai and New Jersey. Before pursuing her Doctoral degree, she taught both violin and viola in several music institutes including Shanghai Kang Chiao International School and Shanghai Qixiang Music Center. Her students have won the First Prize of several competitions including “Golden Classical Music Awards” and “American Classical Young Musician Award”. She is currently on the violin/viola faculty at Rutgers Community Arts, and Rutgers Preparatory School.
Yu Ouyang received a Bachelor of Music in May 2014 and Master of Music in May 2017 at Shanghai Conservatory of Music with full scholarship under the tutelage of Xian He. She also received a Performance Diploma from Montclair State University in 2017, under Weigang Li. Currently, Ms. Ouyang is a candidate of Doctoral of Musical Arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts-Rutgers University, studying with Carmit Zori.
You can find Yu’s 2024 Winter Music Competition violin performance here.