Bion Yu-Ting Tsang (

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

: 章雨亭;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Zhāng Yǔ-Tíng) (born May 4, 1967) is an American

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Biography

Bion Tsang was born in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

parents. His father, Paul Ja-Min Tsang (章哲民), received a PhD from Michigan State University in metallurgy and his mother, Helena Rosa Lit (列国梅), pursued a doctorate in political science. When Tsang was 6 weeks old, his family moved to

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where his father started a 30-year career as an engineer at IBM. Tsang began

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

studies at age six and added

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

a year later. At age eight he entered the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

Pre-College Division, where he studied cello with Ardyth Alton, Channing Robbins and

Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C.; his parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...

and piano with Edgar Roberts. Tsang attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for college, returning to Poughkeepsie on weekends to study cello with Luis Garcia-Renart. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard, where he was nominated for a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

and graduated with honors in January 1989. Subsequently, he spent the next six months in London, England studying cello privately with

William Pleeth William Pleeth OBE (12 January 1916 – 6 April 1999) was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré. Biography Early years William Pleeth was born in London. His p ...

, before moving on to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

to study cello with

Aldo Parisot Aldo Simoes Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018) was a Brazilian-born American cellist and cello teacher. He was first a member of the Juilliard School faculty, and then went on to serve as a music professor at the Yale School of M ...

. Tsang received a Master of Music degree from Yale in June 1991 and a Master of Musical Arts degree in June 1993. Tsang met his wife, Amy Levine, also a concert cellist and teacher, at the

Marlboro Music Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in sess ...

in Vermont. Amy’s father, Julius Levine, was a concert double bassist and teacher and her mother, Caroline Levine, is a concert violist and teacher. Amy and Bion have three children: Bailey, Henry and Maia. Two of his children currently reside in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The oldest, Bailey Tsang, moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to pursue a career in

Visual Effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

VFX Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

. He currently works at

Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...

in the Digital Human Group.

Career

Tsang made his debut with conductor

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

and the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

at age eleven performing the Boccherini Cello Concerto in

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

. He continues to perform internationally as concerto soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and recording artist. Tsang has been internationally recognized by a number of awards including an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Bronze Medal in the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

. He is one of only 6 American cellists to have medaled at the International Tchaikovsky Competition since its inception in 1958. The book ''21st Century Cellists'' devotes one entire chapter to him. Tsang has given a number of notable premieres including: the U.S. premiere of the

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biog ...

''Symphonie Concertante'', the U.S. premiere of

Tan Dun Tan Dun (, ; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and ...

''Crouching Tiger Concerto for Cello Solo and Chamber Orchestra'', and the Boston premiere of the

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

''Cello Concerto''. Tsang is Professor of Cello and holds the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Chair in Cello at the

Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music The Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music in the College of Fine Arts is located on the eastern side of The University of Texas at Austin. With over 100 faculty members and more than 750 students, the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music rank ...

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He is also currently Head of the Division of Strings at the Butler School. He received the Texas Exes Teaching Award immediately after his first year of service at UT.

Discography

Tsang’s official website contains an extensive library of free, downloadable recordings from his live performances. The following commercial recordings by Tsang are also available: * Bion Tsang: Bach Cello Suites (SONY Classical S80606C), 2021 * Bion Tsang: Dvořák/Enescu Cello Concertos (SONY Classical S80459C), 2019 * Live at Jordan Hall - Dohnányi, Britten, Grieg (BHM Media Productions, ASIN: B07G486K7C), 2018 * Bion Tsang: The Blue Rock Sessions - Inspired by vintage recordings of strings giants Pablo Casals, Jascha Heifetz, Isaac Stern and more (BHM Media Productions, ASIN: B071J8WXF2), 2017 * Live in Concert: Brahms Cello Sonatas and Four Hungarian Dances (Artek AR-0051-2), 2010 * A Company of Voices:

Conspirare Conspirare is a choral ensemble based in Austin, Texas. They were formed in 1991 by conductor and musical director Craig Hella Johnson as New Texas Festival but did not begin to regularly perform until 1999. They have released over 25 albums and ...

in Concert (Harmonia Mundi HMU 907534), 2009 * Live in Concert: Beethoven Sonatas and Variations for Cello and Piano (Artek AR-0025-2), 2006 * Strauss / Turina: Quartets for Piano and Strings (Suoni e Colori SC253362), 2004 * Kodaly: Works for Violin and Cello (Suoni e Colori SC253282), 2002 * Schubert / Schumann: Works for Cello and Piano (CAMI 4268), 1991

Awards and recognition

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Nominee, Best Classical Crossover Album, 2009 * Texas Exes Teaching Award, Butler School of Music, The University of Texas at Austin, 2004 * Avery Fisher Career Grant, 1992 * Bronze Medal. IX

, 1990 * MEF Career Grant, 1990 * Finalist,

, 1988 * Fifth Prize. VIII

, 1986 * Winner, Artists International Award, 1984 * Presidential Scholar in the Arts,

Presidential Scholars Program The United States Presidential Scholars Program is a program of the United States Department of Education. It is described as "one of the Nation's highest honors for students" in the United States of America and the globe. The program was estab ...

, 1984 * Piatigorsky Memorial Cello Prize, Young Musicians Foundation National Debut Competition, 1982

References

External links