Equally at home in the world of historical performance practice and modern viola, Brandon Chui joined Tafelmusik in September 2018. He has been a member of the Hamilton Philharmonic since 2007 and held the position of assistant principal viola with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony from 2015 to 2017. He has performed extensively with Aradia Ensemble, Opera Atelier, Nota Bene Baroque Players, Canadian Opera Company, Malaysian Philharmonic, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Having previously held leading roles at Italy’s Centre for Operatic Studies, Switzerland’s Verbier Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, and guest principal viola at Orchestra London, Brandon is a regular mentor/principal at Boris Brott Music Festival’s National Academy Orchestra in Hamilton.
A native Torontonian, he has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing on such stages as Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, New York’s David Geffen Hall (Lincoln Center), Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Lucerne’s KKL, Zurich’s Tonhalle, and the opera houses of Genova, Lyon, and Versailles. Working with many of today’s most celebrated conductors, including Semyon Bychkov, Valery Gergiev, Manfred Honeck, Gianandrea Noseda, and Jaap van Zweden, he has been heard on the CBC (Canada), DRS2 (Switzerland), NDR (Germany), RAI3 (Italy), and RSR (Switzerland) radio networks.
An all-around music nerd, Brandon received his first violin lessons at the age of thirteen. He started piano at a young age and took up a keen interest in the trombone, an instrument he started in elementary school and faithfully continued with nerdy love until the end of high school, by which time he had added trumpet, tuba, and timpani to the home cacophony.
Photo credit: Dahlia Katz