Performing with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is nothing new for Surrey teen violinist Da-Wei Chan, but a June 12 concert will have special meaning when he solos with the VSO one last time before graduating from high school and heading to university.
Featuring host Christopher Gaze and conductor David Bui, at Orpheum Theatre will have Chan, 17, performing Jean Sibelius' hauntingly beautiful Violin Concerto, one of the most challenging violin concertos ever written.
"It's very, very difficult, and I'll be a bit nervous, yeah," admitted Chan, a Sullivan Heights grad this spring.
"You know, after performing it for a long time, there are certain technical challenges. What I've done is I've performed it, practiced it, and then I give it a break, and that break in between really gives me a better insight and actually makes you appreciate it more naturally, which is kind of cool."
As an 11-year-old, Chan made his after winning a Future of Excellence concerto competition. He toured Ontario with the orchestra last March, when he also performed with Astral String Quartet during JUNO Awards week in Vancouver.
A rising-star violinist, Chan first began playing the instrument at age five, with 12 years of practice since then 鈥� sometimes four hours a day, plus full-day Saturday sessions at the VSO School of Music on Seymour Street.
"My parents really wanted me to learn an instrument," he said of dad Siong and mom Wendy, a piano teacher, "so I was kind of under pressure to do that, and I guess there was a little bit of fun taken away from that. But now I have to say, I'm all mature, grown up, and I do enjoy it, especially now that I'm playing so much with other people, which makes it rewarding. When I was younger, I naturally spent a lot of time working on technique and building up my foundation on the instrument, solo."
The recent VSO tour was "one of the craziest experiences" of his life so far, with all the travel, and helped prepare him for life as a professional musician, if he doesn't choose a career in medicine instead 鈥� or both.
"I don't want to let go of my violin, actually, especially after the tour and having a great experience like that, a lot of good memories, time with my friends," said Chan, who has his pick of several universities to attend this fall.
"My two passions are in music and sciences. I've always had a passion for medicine. So I was thinking like somewhere in the doctoral field and somehow being able to be a professional musician at the same time."
Chan has been guided by Carla Birston, a leading strings teacher, according to . Today he leads the VSO School of Music's advanced strings ensemble, Sinfonietta, as its concertmaster, among other highlights in a life of playing violin.
His proud parents know the VSO concert marks the end of an era for them, too.
"I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic because this has been 12 years of our lives," Siong said of Da-Wei's musical schooling. "We were at the school (of music in Vancouver) on Saturdays all day, you know, and built a community. It became like a second home, and it's going to feel really strange when he graduates."
June 12, the 90-minute Tea & Trumpets series concert starts at 2 p.m. in Vancouver.
"From the glowing conclusion of Beethoven鈥檚 Fifth Symphony, to the rain-drenched storm of his Pastoral Sixth Symphony, Beethoven鈥檚 music is adored by musicians and audiences alike," says a post on the VSO's website. "Enjoy an afternoon celebrating the composer鈥檚 most beloved works with host Christopher Gaze and conductor David Bui, plus, enjoy selections by composers who influenced or were inspired by Beethoven."
