VC ARTIST

Violinist Timothy Chooi

Born On December 17, 1993

Born in Canada

United States

Violin 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivarius, on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank

Bow Michael Vann

Education

Curtis Institute of Music | The Juilliard School | Kronberg Academy

Teachers

Catherine Cho | Christian Tetzlaff

Notable awards/competitions won

Michael Hill International Violin Competition Major Prize | Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition Second Prize | Astral Artists National Auditions Winner | Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition First Prize | "Prix Yves Paternot" Prize at the 2018 Verbier Festival

https://www.timothychooi.com/

Upcoming Events

April 8, 2022 | Victoria Symphony Orchestra – BUY TICKET

April 9, 2022 | Victoria Symphony Orchestra – BUY TICKET

April 10, 2022 | Victoria Symphony Orchestra – BUY TICKET

May 1, 2022 | Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey – BUY TICKET

May 6, 2022 | Belgian National Orchestra – BUY TICKET

May 8, 2022 | Belgian National Orchestra – BUY TICKET

May 19, 2022 | University Club – BUY TICKET

June 1, 2022 | Berlin Philharmonie/Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin – BUY TICKET

July 7, 2022 | Orchester der Tiroler Festspiele Erl – BUY TICKET

July 21, 2022 | Morningside Musicbridge Festival – BUY TICKET

July 28, 2022 | Verbier Festival – BUY TICKET

August 6, 2022 | Rheingau Musik Festival – BUY TICKET

August 7, 2022 | Rheingau Musik Festival – BUY TICKET

August 17, 2022 | Metropolitan Monastery of Hydra – BUY TICKET

Book Artist

A rising star, Timothy Chooi’s upcoming season features the Korngold, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius Violin Concertos as well as his Vanguard Concerts debut.

“An Expressive, Powerful, and Nuanced Virtuoso With a Bright Future Ahead of Him”

- The Violin Channel

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, and current artist diploma student of Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School and professional studies candidate at the Kronberg Academy with Christian Tetzlaff, Timothy is a former major prize winner at the Michael Hill and Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competitions and the Astral Artists National Auditions. In 2018, he was awarded 1st prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, in Hannover, Germany. Timothy was also awarded the coveted "Prix Yves Paternot" Prize at the 2018 Verbier Festival, presented to the "most accomplished young musician".

His recent orchestral debuts include solo performances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, NDR Philharmonie Orchestra Hannover, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He was recently appointed as Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa.

What would be the title of your Netflix documentary? And why?

I love so many Netflix documentaries, but one that really sticks out to me was "Social Dilemma." I really loved this documentary because it was talking about social media and how it has affected our entire world. I personally love learning about human behaviour, but in this film it took me to a completely new level. I learned and understood how social media takes advantage of our natural vulnerability and human psychology and makes me question how civilization will continue to evolve with social media being the primary source of communication in today's world.

What do you do for self-care?

For self-care, I force myself to workout on a regular basis even though I absolutely hate it. I just know that it's one thing that has been consistent in my life since I was a teenager and that it will be something I will thank myself for when I'm older. I also recently have been implementing mandatory "socializing" for myself. This means talking to friends and making an effort to meet up with people. As a violinist AND an introvert, being a musician is so intense and self-consuming that I tend to forget that there is a whole world outside of music to discover and explore.

Deal breakers for not taking a gig?

Tough call, and this has changed over the years. Right now, I'm trying to discover my own voice as an artist, and for me what is really important is that any concert/gig I take HAS to contribute to that discovery. It's a vague answer, but basically I try to trust my gut to see if it feels right or not.

What are 3 goals you’d like to achieve in 2022?

1.) Travel somewhere without my violin for a couple days 2.) Discover new repertoire and as I continue to refine my voice as an artist 3.) Hopefully get back into some regularity with the touring! It has been so hard during the pandemic as it is extremely difficult to plan more than a few months out. This will also give me some more peace in my heart!

What’s your deepest fear?

My biggest fear is missing out or FOMO! I'm such a driven and curious person, and I push myself to the absolute limit, that I wonder if I'm ever missing out on other things that I wasn't aware of. I've learned to accept this fear of mine though!