Yip-Wai Chow

Hong Kong violinist Yip-Wai Chow, honored with the Adolfo Betti Prize and the Verdehr Trio Award, is a highly sought-after chamber musician in the United States and in Hong Kong. Yip-Wai is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Yip-Wai has always been an avid chamber musician. He has been a pivotal member of acclaimed ensembles including the award-winning Cong Quartet (2020-22), Montclaire String Quartet (2019-20), and most recently the Klotski Trio (2022-23) of the Verdehr Trio Fellowship where he studied and performed selected pieces from the repertoire that was commissioned by the Verdehr Trio. As an individual chamber musician, Yip-Wai has collaborated with renowned musicians including Inon Baratan, Julio Elizalde, Jennifer Culp, Colleen Lee, and Trey Lee.

As a soloist, Yip-Wai has appeared with Eastman Philharmonia, Fermata Chamber Soloists, Butler Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Medical Association Orchestra. He has served as a guest principal player in the Ohio Valley Symphony, Hong Kong String Orchestra, Gustav Mahler Orchestra of Hong Kong, CØDA Ensemble, and festival orchestras in Colorado College Music Festival, the Heifetz Institute, and Music Academy of the West.

Aside from Yip-Wai’s performing career, he also finds inspiration as an educator. He shares his musical journey as an Artist-in-Residence at various universities, such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong and West Virginia State University. During his time at these institutions, he engaged with students at the collegiate level, conducting chamber music masterclasses, collaborating on performances, and providing consultations on students’ compositions.

Yip-Wai’s music making is heavily influenced by his present and former mentors, including Wonhee Bae and Dimitri Murrath of the Esmé Quartet, Robin Scott of the Ying Quartet, and Ayano Ninomiya, Charles Castleman, Marc Danel, and Luc-Marie Aguera. His dedication to music has been recognized and rewarded with prizes from numerous competitions, including the Kreutzer Music Competition, the French Music Competition, the MTNA National Competition, the Brookline Concerto Competition, and the Japan-Hong Kong International Competition. These accolades occured during his studies at the Netherlands String Quartet Academie (NSKA), his Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory, and his Bachelor’s degree at the Eastman School of Music.