Conversations with Violinist David Chan: Opening Musical Doors

February 5, 2024, 4:33 PM · A cursory reading of David Chan's resume leaves the reader breathless. A seasoned soloist and consummate chamber musician, he has led the storied Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for over two decades. Adding to his abundant musical offerings, David Chan is a member of the violin faculty at the Juilliard School and Head of Orchestral Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, "an inspiring position where all of my musical experiences come together through a variety of activities ranging from playing alongside students to leading panel discussions, where we have the freedom to discuss issues that might never come to the fore in individual lessons."

Violinist David Chan.

Branching out to embrace conducting was a natural step along Chan's musical path. Beside his music directorships with the Montclair Orchestra and Camerata Notturna in the United States, his guest appearances in Europe have also garnered great acclaim.

"I didn't expect to be here"

Emphasizing the fact that a musician is but one part of the whole equation - "the who you are that motivates what you do and how you do it" - Chan expresses great humility about the "spiritual lens which grounds me, my Christian faith." Thoughtful and quick-thinking, Chan referred to an interview he gave a few years ago in which he divided his musical life journey into several parts, within the rubric: 'I didn't expect to be here.'

Part one of that journey goes back to the very beginning. "My parents were Asian immigrants whose U.S. journey started off at Stanford University before work opportunities took them to San Diego," he said. "Like all good parents, they sought the best educational opportunities for their children. A Suzuki teacher came to my preschool and talked of the benefits of music, mentioning that students could improve in reading and math skills through their violin training."

"Perhaps fortunately, they had no musical experience - or for that matter, expectations - for my success," he said. "Rather, they were attracted to the educational enrichment aspects of the Suzuki promise." This lack of direct musical pressure was constructive to the three-year-old pupil. "I took off like a rocket, and soon thereafter I was the kid who was playing the first violin part of the Bach Double with the 15-year-olds."

Chan's great musical abilities necessitated the search for a serious private teacher. Accepted by Michael Tseitlin, the young violinist was exposed to the precise training routines of the Russian school imparted by such Moscow legends as Yampolsky and Yankelevich. As Chan recounts, what could have been an idyllic easy going life in his hometown San Diego changed. "All of a sudden, I was with a Russian teacher who gunned for gold medals at the 'gymnastic' competition."

Carefully contemplative and deeply honest, Chan spoke frankly about his early teen years, a time when the temptation to put the violin aside intensified. "I really wanted to be like other kids, play baseball and go to after school play dates, to live the normal life of a San Diego suburban kid who did not spend hours practicing the violin," he said. "It took me a while to face the fact that I really wasn't like those other kids, no matter what I thought."

While many parents would have been very upset - shocked by a pre-teen's choice to move away from success, Chan's parents advised him to take a time out, to practice as much he liked. "That was really strange because by that time, I had probably practiced more than most young musicians do their whole life!" Chan said. "I was so used to that daily rhythm that to take a day off was...weird."

But things changed when, following his high school freshman year, Chan was invited to tour with the San Diego Youth Orchestra as soloist. And, what a tour that was! The ensemble traveled to the great musical capitals of Central Europe (Prague, Budapest, Vienna) in 1988, just before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

"Joining in with my newfound friends to play the second half of each concert, I thought 'I could do this for the rest of my life,'" he said. "My musical satisfaction could not have been greater."

The college round of decision-making following high school graduation took Chan to universities and, of course, on a visit to the Juilliard School. True to his inner convictions, Chan opted for Harvard.

"Juilliard at the time did not really call to me, and I loved Harvard from first glance onwards," he said. "Enrolling as a computer science major, I was also in-part fulfilling my parents wish to have a profession to 'fall back on.'" Throughout his years at Harvard, Chan commuted twice a month to study with Dorothy Delay and Hyo Kang at Juilliard. Summers were spent at the Aspen Music School, "my immersive orchestral music experience during college." The logical next step post-Harvard was to pursue a Master's degree at Juilliard.

The Solo Voyage

With no inkling of self-importance, Chan discussed the ups and downs of a newcomer's solo career, a voyage that began while Chan was still a student. Like most on the solo-recital circuit, he had won top prizes at major competitions (at the age of 17, Tchaikovsky Competition, thereafter the Bronze Medal at the Indianapolis International Violin Competition 1994). "And then, I was under management, and I had the makings of a promising solo career," he said, "however, the experience as a whole did not call to me."

"The on-the-road grind, that off-stage loneliness - are aspects of a soloist's reality that escape consideration until you are there," Chan said. "In contrast, chamber music, with its built-in sense of community where you musically partake from the richness of ideas from like-minded artists, became even more important to me." It was partially Chan's solo career and partially his chamber music experiences that led to the next chapter of "I didn't expect to be here."

"I was in England recording Paganini's First and Second concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra, when the conductor asked me, 'Where do you see yourself in the future?' I probably stunned him with my answer: 'You know — I think I want to play in an orchestra.'"

The next challenge involved tackling the vicissitudes inherent to the audition trail. As Chan puts it: "A candidate has to come to terms with the subjective/objective realities of taking auditions: that although one might pass to the finals, one might not be the player that the committee had in mind."

A conversation with Michael Gilbert (violinist in the New York Philharmonic) pointed towards the next direction: "Why don't you stop auditioning for other jobs," Gilbert said, "you are going to be a concertmaster. Be confident in that and go for it."

"As luck would have it, soon after the conversation," Chan said, "I was playing chamber music with a number of people from the MET Orchestra who suggested that I should take the concertmaster audition." Although Chan had never performed in an opera orchestra, the genre was close to his heart, thanks to years of listening to the legendary Texaco MET broadcasts.

"By the time I won the MET position, I had spent half of my life as a bona-fide opera fan. My parents would joke that if I asked for more money, it was to purchase opera cds," he said. "I knew from the outset that the MET was the place for me - what an amazing sound spectrum, what a repertoire, and what a chance to work with incredible conductors and singers."

For Chan, leadership involves both assertion and concession.

"There is a physical language to learn in order to lead, as well as that all-important chamber music aspect," Chan said. "It may seem paradoxical, but in order to be a leader you also have to be a follower. To keep your orchestra together, you not only follow the main voice and give it the space for it to do what it wants to do, but you must learn when to let other voices lead."

Nothing Happens by Happenstance: Taking up the Baton

In part three of "I didn't expect to be here" - "I did not anticipate taking up conducting," he said. "In early interviews I joked that I would never go there, (because) 'I like having friends,' to paraphrase the famous quote."

"My thinking at the time was that I still had so much that I hadn't explored as a player. But I eventually realized that if I was going to keep growing, I had to look beyond my instrument and get involved in the whole score," Chan said. "Musical engagement nourishes other forms. Every time I conduct, I have new insights into how to be a concertmaster and vice versa. It is as if the exchange of musical ideas within myself grows through both endeavors."

David Chan conducting. Photo by Jean-Louis Bernuy.

"Teaching violin and conducting share similar properties," he said. "As a teacher you are always searching for a way to say the right thing, to open the door to a new idea, to provide an analytical standpoint to help the student hear and identify what needs to be worked on. A conductor bears the responsibility to open similar doors with a collective of fellow musicians."

"One of the things I enjoy about conducting is the feeling of freedom," he said. "Juxtapose that with performing on an instrument, where there is always the element of execution to worry about. If it's too hot, or too cold for that matter, how do your strings react, are you your fingers reacting optimally—those concerns can consume your thoughts."

If the reader is left wondering how David Chan is able to triumph in such a variety of musical activities, he gives credit to a higher power. "I pride myself on my time management and organization skills, and having kids has surely taught me how to make the most of limited time," he said. "But, at the end of the day, I'm keenly aware that the ability to juggle so many things is a gift from God."

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Replies

Richard Pairaudeau

February 6, 2024 at 04:05 PM · A fine article Heather - you cover so much, and yet give your readers plenty of detail. One question: is the resumé you mention the biography that can be downloaded from David Chan's website?

jean dubuisson

February 7, 2024 at 02:27 PM · thanks Heather, an inspiring personality that combines humility with excellence.

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