Joe Chu-Yu Yang

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The Orchestra

Joe Chu-Yu Yang

Second Violin

Taiwanese violinist Joe Chu-Yu Yang is quickly gaining a reputation for his artistry and dedication to the promotion of British music. A versatile performer and scholar, he began studying the violin at age six under Ming-Hui Lin and later with Su-Lan Hsu, whose mentorship shaped his formative years. Joe went on to gain a First-Class Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the tutelage of Simon Smith. During his time at the RBC, he was awarded a full scholarship, Leverhulme scholarship, and Meher Rohi Gazder scholarship. Competition successes include being the prize winner of the Sylvia Cleaver Chamber Music Prize and the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Prize, for which Stephen Maddock OBE described his performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto as “a thoughtful, exciting, and beautifully phrased performance”.

An active orchestral musician, Joe freelances with numerous leading UK orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Opera North, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He was appointed a second violin section player with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2025.

Offstage, Joe is a passionate advocate for British music. He is the founder and director of the British Music Festival in Taiwan, where he also serves as organiser, lecturer, masterclass teacher, and performer. The festival, which promotes British music abroad and fosters UK–Taiwan relations, received support from esteemed trusts such as the Arthur Bliss Society, the Bliss Trust, Delius Trust, Finzi Friends, Holst Society, Ivor Gurney Trust, John Ireland Trust, and the RVW Trust. Successfully held in January 2023, the BMF featured multiple Taiwanese premieres of British works. In recognition of his advocacy, he was appointed Far Eastern Representative of the Arthur Bliss Society in 2022 and Taiwan Correspondent of the Holst Society in 2023. In April 2025, Joe released his first album, An English Pastoral, with the American pianist Eric McElroy by SOMM Recordings, which includes world premiere recordings of music by Ivor Gurney and Ian Venables.

Joe is currently a PhD candidate at the Royal Academy of Music, where he obtained his master’s degree with DipRAM and Professional Diploma, as well as being a deputy lecturer for a BMus elective called “British Music and Culture”. His research focuses on the performance practice of violin repertoire pertaining to the English Pastoral School in the early to mid-20th century, under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Clinch and legendary violinist/concertmaster Rodney Friend.