Homecoming is a set of recollections of people, places, times and experiences. It is a response to the anxieties and concerns that were created by the global pandemic but also reflects some of the new creative and artistic possibilities that can also arise during times of both instability and solitude.
Growing up in a bilingual household and a multicultural environment led to a desire to explore and expand my knowledge of musical and cultural life beyond New Zealand. The opportunity to live and study abroad as an international student completing a music degree in the US as well as participation in summer programs in North America and Europe provided cultural experiences that led to an expansion of my understanding of the world. When the emergence of the pandemic prompted my unexpected return to New Zealand, I was left with only memories, photographs, annotated scores, and social media connections. As I readjusted to the landscape of my childhood home, I came to realize that the essence of travel lies in the accumulation of personal travel experiences - a collection that can be used to integrate newfound aspects of culture into a person's life, wherever one chooses to call home.
Tony Yan Tong Chen, June 2021
Tony has won several regional competitions in Auckland, Te Awamutu, Hamilton, and Tauranga, and won scholarships from the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, Waikanae Music Society, IRMT, and Manukau Symphony. Since moving to the United States, Tony has been awarded 2nd Prize (Alternate Winner) in the MTNA Young Artist Competition in New York and been a participant in the Marian Garcia International Piano Competition.
With the support of Professor Jack Richards, Tony has attended festivals in Canada (Orford), Switzerland (Blonay) and Spain (Valencia), and has performed in masterclasses for distinguished pianists including Jerome Lowenthal, Alexander Kobrin, Douglas Humpherys, Boris Slutsky, Pavel Nercessian, Edith Fischer, Pierre Reach, John Perry, Anton Nel, and Jean Saulnier, among others.
Tony attended the Macleans College in Auckland, where he served as the concertmaster of the Symphony, Chamber and Musical Production orchestras and the principal trumpet of the Concert and Jazz bands. While studying with Olga Vorontsova, Nigel Weeks, and Anthony Webster, he achieved dipABRSM with distinction on violin, and ABRSM Grade 8 on both trumpet and french horn. He has enjoyed playing violin in ensembles including the Auckland Symphony, Auckland Youth Orchestra, Manukau Symphony, and Wairua Sinfonietta.
At Eastman, he has been named to the Dean’s List for outstanding academic achievement, and his numerous other academic awards have included Cambridge International Examinations Top Achiever awards for 4 A Grades at A Level and the highest mark in New Zealand for AS and A Level music, NZQA scholarships in music and english literature, and prizes at the Visual Art Exhibition for acrylic painting and watercolour.
At the end of his time in highschool, he undertook an audition tour of the United States and was subsequently awarded competitive scholarships to four top music conservatories including the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and Berklee College of Music (Boston Conservatory).
Tony is residing at home in Auckland, completing his current semester of education online, and hopes to return to the United States next year if it is safe to do so. In 2021, he looks forward to performing the Grieg concerto with the Bach Musica in the Auckland Town Hall, Beethoven’s Emperor concerto with the Wairua Sinfonietta, as well as solo recitals in New Zealand and Switzerland.