Sun, Xiangwei
Violin Faculty
Xiangwei Sun is a Violin Soloist, Chamber Musician, Active Orchestra Member, Educator, and Conductor. Mr. Sun has participated in numerous performances worldwide including China, Korea, Thailand, United States, German, and Russia. His exceptional talent earned him prestigious competitions awards. Notable among these accolades are the 1st Prize Winner of Beijing Teenager Violin Competition, 2nd Prize Winner of Beijing JinZhong Music Festival Competition, 1st Prize Winner of Pennsylvania Chamber Music Competition, 1st Prize Winner of Oberlin Concerto Competition, 1st Prize Winner of Blitzer Award for the Top Violinist, 1st Prize Winner of Louisiana State University Violin Concerto Competition, LSU Symphony Orchestra Guest Soloist, Mr. W. Carruth Jones Scholarship Winner, Music Club of Baton Rouge Scholarship Winner, Jacobs School of Music Artistic Excellence Award Winner, IUB Top Musician Award Winner.
Mr. Sun has also made great connections with a diverse array of renowned musicians across the United States, which has garnered him abundant praise.
1. “A virtuosic violinist with extreme passion for performing.” — Robert Chen, Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
2. “The guy who fearlessly played with opposite bowing among all excellent violinists; he was the only one doing the right thing.” — Alexander Kerr, Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
3. “A well-polished fine artist.” — Paul Kantor, Sallie Shepherd Perkins Professor of Violin at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.
4. “Mature violinist with a million-dollar sound.” — Simin Ganatra, Grammy winner for Best Chamber Music Performance.
His musical journey began at the age of 8 when he first started playing the violin with TongTong Zhang, an Associate Violin Professor and Chair of the String Department at Ji Lin University, as well as the Concertmaster of the Ji Lin Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, Mr. Sun's musical voyage led him to study under Xiaoyu Yang, a Soloist, Conductor, and Concertmaster at the National Center for the Performing Arts, where he was deeply influenced by the violin pedagogy of Yaoji Lin. His dedication and talent earned him first place at The Affiliated High School of China Conservatory in 2008, where he continued his studies with Hui Jin, a Distinguished Violin Professor and Chair of the String Department at China Conservatory.
A few years later, Mr. Sun’s virtuosity won him the highest scholarship from Oberlin Conservatory, and he was chosen by the Distinguished Violin Professor Gregory Fulkerson to continue studying violin in the United States. Later, Mr. Sun became the concertmaster at Oberlin Conservatory. Due to Mr. Fulkerson’s retirement, he honed his skills with Espen Lilleslatten, a respected Violin Professor at Louisiana State University. During the school year, Mr. Sun was honored to be the Classical Music Ambassador on the LSU Music Department's official website for many years, and he accomplished his bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance.
In 2021, Mr. Sun was accepted into Indiana University Bloomington under the mentorship of Simin Ganatra, the Grammy Chamber Music Award Winner, Chair of the Department of Strings and a Professor of Music (Violin), and the first violin of the Pacifica Quartet. Here, he earned his master’s degree in Violin Performance with top scholarship. During his time at IU, Mr. Sun enriched his musical insight by studying under Alexander Kerr, the concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Mimi Zweig, the founder & creator of the IU String Pedagogy and IU String Academy.