Artistic Directors: Chad Burrow & Amy Cheng
Chad Burrow, assis
tant professor of music in clarinet at the University of Michigan, and his wife, noted concert pianist Amy I-Lin Cheng serve as the artistic directors for the Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma.
Chad Burrow is recognized as one of the premiere clarinetists of his generation. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in concert halls across the globe. The European press has said that Chad performs with “brilliant technique and tonal beauty mixed with an expressive ferocity.” Danish critic, Henrik Svane, went on to describe a performance as filled with "virtuosity, energy, and power without compromise." The New York Times recently called a Carnegie Hall appearance in Poulenc’s, Sonata, as giving a “strong impression” and being a “bright and genial account.”
In 2009, Chad was appointed to the clarinet faculty of the University of Michigan, where he teaches clarinet, chamber music and serves as the director for the Michigan Chamber Players. Additionally, he serves as co-artistic director for the Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma (http://brightmusic.org) and is on the faculty of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival (www.sewaneemusicfestival.org) and Alpenkammermusik Festival in Austria (http://alpenkammermusik.com). He is the former principal clarinetist of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the New Haven Symphony, Quartz Mouthan Music Festival and the Arizona Musicfest Orchestra. Chad was also the past Associate Professor of Clarinet at Oklahoma City University.
Chad’s recent concert engagements abroad have included concerts in Austria, Denmark’s Thy Chamber Music Festival, a recital in the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, concerts in Strasbourg, France and Concerto appearances with the Taichung Philharmonic, the “Classic” Orchestra of Taichung and the Shin Sharn Ensemble in Taipei. Recent performances in the United States have included appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in Alice Tully Hall, Chamber Music Northwest and performances on a series of Benny Goodman centennial concerts in Carnegie Hall and Yale University. Other performances have included venues at Rice University, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, the University of Houston, three International Clarinet Association conferences, Northwestern University, the Music Mansion in Providence (RI), the Notre Dame University, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas, University of, Texas Christian University, the University of Texas, Louisiana State University and the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, among many others.
In addition to his own schedule of performances, Chad is the clarinetist for Duo Clarion, formed in 1999 at Yale University with pianist Amy I-Lin Cheng. Duo Clarion maintains an active series of performances throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East. Duo Clarion’s work has been recorded and released by Albany Records, CD Baby and Wei Studios in Taiwan. The Duo’s most recent recording features works of Brahms and Schumann on CD Baby. Violinist Sean Wang joins Duo Clarion to form Trio Solari. The trio has had a regular touring schedule around the world since 2006. Trio Solari is anticipating the release of their first recording on Centaur in the fall of 2015.
Chad is the winner of prizes and awards from the 2001 Young Concert Artist International Competition in New York City, the 2000 Woolsey Hall Competition, the 2000 Artist International Competition, and the 1997 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he was a student of Russell Dagon, and a Master of Music degree from Yale University, where he was a student of David Shifrin.
Chad serves as an artist for Vandoren and Backun Musical Services. He plays exclusively on Backun, MOBA clarinets.
Pianist Amy I-Lin Cheng has been described by the New York Concert Review as a pianist whose “control of the keyboard is complete, technique easy and relaxed, with a wide range of touch.” Pianist Claude Frank describes her as “a brilliant, sensitive, imaginative and most beguiling pianist.” Amy has appeared in recitals at venues such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and National Concert Hall in Taipei. She has performed in music festivals both as soloist and chamber musician across the United States, in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Taiwan and Israel. Amy’s live performances have been heard on WGBH, KCSC, WHYY, La Radio Suisse Romande-Espace 2, and NPR in Houston. Amy made her Boston concerto debut at the age of 17 at Jordan Hall with Liszt Concerto No. 2 under the direction of Benjamin Zhander, and has appeared with the 'Musica Viva' Moscow Chamber Orchestra among others.
An avid chamber musician, she is the current co-Artistic Director of the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble in Oklahoma City. Amy recently taught and performed at the 2009 Interharmony International Music Festival and 2010 Quartz Mountain Festival. Amy performs with husband/clarinetist Chad Burrow as Duo Clarion. In 2009, the duo received rave reviews in The Yale Daily News and The New York Times for their performance of Poulenc’s Clarinet Sonata in a festival celebrating the 100th birthday of Benny Goodman. The duo made its debut CD recording appearance on "Chamber Music of Edward Knight" on Albany Record in 2005. The duo also forms Trio Solari with violinist Sean Yung-Hsiang Wang.
A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music (BM), Yale University School of Music (MM and Artist Diploma), and the New England Conservatory (DMA), her principal teachers are Claude Frank, Wha-Kyung Byun and Rolf-Peter Wille. Ms. Cheng was Assistant Professor of Piano at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma from 02-06, and served as the Head of the Piano Area at Oklahoma City University Wanda L. Bass School of Music from 06-09. Amy is currently on faculty at the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts and serves as a collaborative pianist for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
