Brian Chen

Award-winning violist Brian Chen is a founding member of the Formosa Quartet. After winning First Prize in the 2003 Primrose International Viola Competition, he and his quartet won the Grand Prize of the 2006 London International String Quartet Competition. San Diego Union-Tribune described him as an artist who finds “not just the subtle emotion, but the humanity hidden in the music.” He has recorded on EMI, Delos, New World Records, and Aeolian Classics. His recording with the Formosa Quartet, From Hungary to Taiwan, released by Bridge Records, was named one of “The Best Classical Releases of January 2019” by WQXR. As an orchestral musician, he served as principal violist of the San Diego Symphony and the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra and has appeared as guest principal viola with major orchestras across North America. His solo, chamber, and orchestral career, combined with his passion for education, led him to found the Formosa Chamber Music Festival in Taiwan together with his quartet. He is a former member of CMS’s Bowers Program. His other chamber music projects include Camera Lucida and The Myriad Trio. He has given master classes across North America and Asia and served on the faculty of the University of Southern California until 2019. Chen joined the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as professor of viola in 2018.