INTERVIEW Striving for classical music for all
Violinist Ray Chen speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the KBS Music Studio, March 28. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Anna J. Park
Ray Chen, 30, is an internationally renowned classical violinist who travels the world performing with the most prestigious orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Munich Philharmonic. Since winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition, one of the most challenging competitions for instrumentalists, at the age of 20 in 2009, he has been hailed by music critics for his deeply felt musicality, rich sound and solid techniques.
But the Taiwanese-Australian does not fall into the stereotype of classical music virtuosos, who tend to have a lofty air around them. His bright, down-to-earth personality makes him approachable and he is one of the most active classical music artists on social media.
He has over 151,000 followers on Facebook, about 134,000 followers on Instagram and some 54,000 followers on YouTube. Even with his extremely busy, globe-trotting schedule, he finds time to upload short, light-hearted videos or amusing photo posts almost daily. But it is not always easy to juggle his job as a top-notch classical musician and SNS star.
“It's a tricky thing, because as an artist, your first priority is music, the quality of music, musicality, technique and intellectual depth,” Chen said in an interview with The Korea Times when he visited Seoul in March to play the Prokofiev Violin Concert No.2 with the KBS Orchestra.
“All of that takes so much time and effort and energy that you don't have much time left for social media, because it's like a whole different profession. So I think it's very difficult for artists to do both really well. But I guess, I could say that, for me, I am really blessed and proud that I can manage both, although sometimes it's very difficult, and I think my audience understands when I do a little less social media when I am busy.”
Chen manages his SNS accounts, reads all comments and shoots his own videos, although someone helps with the video editing. The cheerful violinist said it is very important to stay engaged with the audience, as he did not want the classical music market to “become insular, like it's isolated in itself.”
“The reason why I started it was because I wanted to show a different side of classical music and especially to engage with these young people,” Chen said. “I mean, at least my way of doing social media is being relatable, because that was what classical music didn't have.”
Violinist Ray Chen poses for a photo during an interview with The Korea Times at the KBS Music Studio, March 28. Korea times photo by Choi Won-suk
In an effort to win over the younger generation, he also has made many comedy videos. But these have a clear theme: education for the youth.
“I'm not doing a funny video just to be popular, it was to show another side of classical music and to reach out to the younger generation,” Chen said. “Every time I did a comedy video, I always included music or some part of the violin or something like that. So it became very obvious to people, to presenters, promoters and all these people in the industry that 'oh, it's for the kids. It's targeted for youth.'”
His ideas for the videos come from his previous experience as a music student. His forte not only lies in comedy videos. He also has made more serious ones, such as his motivational video, uploaded on YouTube early last year, titled “Dealing with Insecurity.” It received lots of enthusiastic comments and many people said they burst into tears because the video touched their hearts.
“I wanted people to feel like, when they come to the concert hall, they see a great performance, but then they are inspired, because they know what my character is like,” Chen said. “I am a normal person and hopefully it will inspire them to work hard and they will think, 'one day I can become like him.'”
Violinist Ray Chen speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the KBS Music Studio, March 28. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
His latest project in engaging with the public is “Play with Ray,” an international competition where amateur violinists can apply for a chance to play with the LA Philharmonic, along with Chen, on stage at the Hollywood Bowl on August 8. Applicants need to record a video of themselves performing the first violin part of the first movement of Bach's Double Violin Concerto and submit the video by May 1 to
. Three finalists will be chosen to fly out to L.A., with all costs paid, and one will play at the Hollywood Bowl in front of 18,000 people.
Chen is also working on the film “The Song of Names” with composer Howard Shore, who was responsible for “The Lord of the Rings” soundtrack, and director Francois Girard, who made “The Red Violin.” Chen is also collaborating with “League of Legends,” a very popular video game worldwide, as a music consultant.
“I feel like it's pretty easy to remain grounded, because classical music is such a small market,” Chen said. “I mean, all it takes is to look outside your world. There's a whole world out there. And I think for me, that's what keeps me grounded when I do collaborations with other artists from other fields.”
Chen's dream is to inspire others to love classical music, hoping it becomes less exclusive and more welcoming to everyone.
“Hopefully at one point they maybe saw a video, or they heard a concert or something on the radio that was classical music that made them feel uplifted, or inspired, something like that, where they can be feeling a certain emotion,” Chen said.
“Maybe they go and listen to classical music because this is their safe zone; [I want] to invite them into our room of classical music. You know, our room maybe not that big, but it is cozy and it is safe. I want to give people that feeling that it is a happy environment. And that's my dream, to continue decorating this room and building it maybe, and inviting as many people as I can.”
Chen said his energy and inspiration comes from his appreciation of others. “I think it's the love for people. I like that, that's the source,” he said, smiling.
Violinist Ray Chen performs during a rehearsal with the KBS Orchestra, March 28. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Check out Ray's YouTube video on “Dealing with Insecurity” on his YouTube channel.