Anna Im + Chiao-Ying Chang (Violin & Piano) | Hoylake Chamber Concert Society

About Anna Im + Chiao-Ying Chang (Violin & Piano) | Hoylake Chamber Concert Society

Anna Im

"... won over by the persuasive sweetness of Im's Tchaikovsky", NZ Herald

Anna Im is the First Prize winner of the 10th Michael Hill International Violin Competition, the Stuttgart International Violin Competition 2024, and ArsClassica International Competition for Soloists 2024.

Having earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music under Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand, and both an Advanced Diploma and Master’s Degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London under So-Ock Kim, Anna has captivated audiences worldwide.

Upon graduation from Curtis, she was awarded the Curtis/Milka Violin Artist Prize. The recording of a live performance of the Brahms String Quintet, which she led as first violin, was selected as the first track of the "Curtis 95 Years of Artistry Season Selections" album.

Anna has been hailed for her extraordinarily beautiful sound and for being an engaging and passionate musician, appearing as a soloist with the Stuttgart Philharmoniker, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Baden-Baden Philharmonic, and Salzburger Solisten, among others. She has also been invited to participate in many festivals including the Kronberg Academy Festival, Ravinia Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, and Aspen Music Festival, among others. As a chamber musician, Anna has performed with Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, and Tabea Zimmermann as part of Kronberg Academy’s “Chamber Music Connects the World”.

Anna began playing the violin at the age of seven and was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family when she was eight. At the age of nine, she won the Little Mozart Competition in Korea and as the winner of the competition, was invited to perform at Schlosskonzerte Mirabell in Salzburg, Austria in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth.

Anna moved to the United Kingdom in 2012 to commence studies with So-Ock Kim, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. There she attended Millfield School until she entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2014.

Honoured with the Bicentenary Scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, her newest release in April 2024, titled Rêverie, features the 'Maurin' Violin by Antonio Stradivari. The album mesmerizes audiences on streaming platforms worldwide, alongside her debut album Amabile.

Anna Im is sponsored by The Tillett Trust as part of its DEBUT programme

Chiao-Ying Chang

Described by the press as “a true artist of elegance, thoughtfulness, passion and immense power”, Chiao-Ying Chang has distinguished herself as one of the leading pianists of her generation. A top prize-winner at the Leeds, ARD Munich, AXA Dublin and Taiwan International Piano Competitions, she has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Halle, Royal Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, National Irish Symphony and Munich Chamber Orchestra.

Chiao-Ying has given recitals at prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Jacqueline Du Pre Hall, St. Georges Bristol, Carnegie Hall in New York, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and major festivals including the Cambridge Summer, North Aldeborough, Ribble Valley, Newbury, Brighton, Oundle and Honiton Festivals. Abroad she has performed at the Busoni Festival in Bolzano, Italy, the Europaisches Klassik, Mosel Musikfestival International Piano Summer and the Kammermusikfest des ARD-Wettbewerbs in Schloss Elmau, Munich and Berlin in Germany. She was selected for representation by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London since 2001.

Equally at home as a chamber musician, Chiao-Ying has collaborated with renowned artists including James Buswell, Lawrence Power, Alison Balsom, So-Ock Kim and the Ysaye Quartet. She is a founding member of the Fournier Piano Trio, winner of the 2013 Parkhouse Award and 2nd prize of the 2011 Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition. Her duo collaboration with cellist Pei-Jee Ng won the Libero Lana Prize at the 2011 Trieste International Chamber Music Competition.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chiao-Ying began her piano studies at the age of five and gave her debut recital at twelve. She continued her studies with Prof. Yu-Chiou Tchen at the Affiliated High School of National Taiwan Normal University before winning a full scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Christopher Elton and the late Maria Curcio, one of the most celebrated pupils of Artur Schnabel. Later she was awarded the Hodgson fellowship and completed the MMus course with Distinction & a DipRAM, the Academy’s highest award. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2015.

Chiao-Ying’s other concerto work included appearances with Regensburg Philharmonic, National Symphony of Taiwan, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Collegium Musicum Basel, Vienna Operetta, Sinfonia Varsovia and London Soloist Chamber Orchestras. She has given masterclasses in the UK, Norway, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Her CD recordings include the complete Schubert Impromptus for German label Audite, a collection of 29 works by Chopin for Musica Indo inc. in Japan, and piano trios by Mendelssohn, Faure and Ravel with Resonus Classics and USK Recordings.

The Venue

OUR CONCERTS ARE HELD IN ST HILDEBURGH’S CHURCH, HOYLAKE, CH47 1HL

The venue is five minutes’ walk from Hoylake railway station on the Wirral Line and fifteen minutes from the motorway network.

TO HOYLAKE BY RAIL FROM LIVERPOOL

1. Arriving at Liverpool Lime Street mainline station, cross the concourse and descend to the Merseyrail Underground station. Trains are bound for several termini which are shown on the front of each train, and on electronic displays on the platform. Take the train for West Kirby.

2. Alight at Hoylake station (the penultimate stop on the line).

3. Cross the footbridge and continue straight ahead to a roundabout with a bird sculpture in its centre.

4. Cross the road and continue in the same direction along The King’s Gap.

5. After 200 metres at a crossroads, The Green Lodge Hotel is opposite you and St Hildeburgh’s church is on your left.

TO HOYLAKE BY ROAD

Corner of Stanley Road and King’s Gap, Hoylake CH47 1HL

1. Leave the M53 motorway at Junction 2

2. Continue to the end of the spur road, then take the second exit off the roundabout and follow the signs for Moreton & Hoylake.

3. At the end of the road take the first exit off the roundabout for Hoylake A553.

4. Stay on the A553 through Moreton, Meols and then into Hoylake.

5. In Hoylake you will reach a roundabout with a bird sculpture in its centre. Turn right on the roundabout.

6. After 200 metres you reach a crossroads with St Hildeburgh’s church on your left. Turn left here.

7. There is disabled parking available in the church car park and plenty of on road parking.

Our Annual Membership

Annual Membership is £85 per person.

Your membership gives you entrance to all six concerts, September – November 2024 and February – April 2025, and entitles you to attend AGMs. Tickets will be transferable.

To become a member of Hoylake Chamber Concert Society please go to: https://chamberconcert.co.uk/become-a-member/

Next concert

Our next concert will be on Monday 24th February 2025 at 7.30pm