Guest Artist Concert: Violinist Charles Yang

Described by the Boston Globe as one who “plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star,” Juilliard graduate Charles Yang has performed as a soloist with orchestras and in recitals in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Not confined to classical violin, Mr. Yang’s improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances with a variety of artists in such festivals as The Aspen Music Festival, The Cayman Arts Festival, The YouTube Music Awards, The Moab Music Festival, TED, Caramoor, The EG Conference, Oncue Conference, Google Zeitgeist, YouTube Space Los Angeles, Interlochen, and onstage at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, David H. Koch Theater, Dizzy’s and David Rubinstein Atrium; The Long Center, The Royal Danish Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, Highline Ballroom, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing among many others.

At CMI, the evening begins with a panel discussion, featuring Mr. Yang and CMI Artistic Advisor Yuga Cohler, moderated by CMI Artistic Director Paul Frucht. The panel will discuss various cross-currents in the evolution of classical music before taking questions from the audience. Following the panel, Mr. Yang will perform a concert of his own works and arrangements featuring both acoustic and electric violins. He will close his program with his unique, exhilarating rendition of Ravel’s masterwork, Tzigane, performed with CMI Artist-in-Residence, pianist Ben Laude.