Concert by
Candlelight

Violinist Sheng-Tsung Wang gave his solo debut at the age of thirteen, performing with the Bremen Symphony Orchestra of Germany. Of the concert, Die Norddeutsche marveled that Wang “performed the difficult passages with astonishing understanding, as well as interpreting the lyric qualities with sweetness, bravura, and inspired tone.” He presented three evenings of solo and chamber performances in Carnegie Hall in 1999, under the auspices of the La Gesse Foundation. A more recent sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall with the Gemini Piano Trio was reviewed by notable New York City music critic Edith Eisler who praised that the performers, “with such a high level of unanimity and rapport...were concerned only with the music, and used their technical command and tonal variety entirely in its service.”

He has performed solo and orchestral works under the baton of guest conductors including Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, the late Bramwell Tovey, and JoAnn Falletta. He has performed with classical artists including Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, and Leontyne Price, and with contemporary artists including Andrea Bocelli, James Taylor, Jon Batiste, Lady Gaga, among others.

Sheng-Tsung Wang earned his Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland School of Music at College Park. He received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, where he won the Marbury Violin Competition as a student of Victor Danchenko. Previous teachers have included Elaine Mishkind, Eugene Drucker of the Emerson String Quartet, Ik-Hwan Bae, Gerald Fischbach, and Mark Ulrich. As a chamber musician, Dr. Wang spent summers at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, Taos School of Music, and Castleman Quartet Program. Dr. Wang has previous and current teaching positions at the University of Maryland School of Music at College Park, the Peabody Conservatory, Preparatory Division, and Howard Community College in Columbia, MD.

As Associate Concertmaster of "The President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra, Master Sergeant Wang performs regularly at the White House and other distinguished venues in the Washington, D.C. area.

Tam Tran is an active soloist, chamber musician, and a regular performer at the White House as a violinist and Assistant Principal Violist of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra. He has been specifically requested by name to perform violin at private presidential functions in the White House residence and to lead high-profile international events in New York City and San Francisco, including diplomatic summits and state visits.

Tam has performed chamber music with members of the Emerson String Quartet, Ani Kavafian, Colin Carr, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. He has performed on the “Axelrod” Antonio Stradivarius from the Smithsonian Collection and performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Camp David, and before the late Queen Elizabeth II. His performances have been featured on PBS, HBO, The Late Show with David Letterman, and NPR’s Performance Today.

He studied with Emanuel Vardi at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Richard Young of the Vermeer String Quartet at Northern Illinois University, and Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet at Stony Brook University. In addition to his classical background, Tam is passionate about diverse musical traditions. He actively explores world music genres including French Gypsy Jazz, Brazilian Chôro, Argentine Tango, Italian folk, Persian, Irish, Greek, and Klezmer, and has also immersed himself in pop, rock, country music, and bluegrass, expanding his artistic voice across genres.

Conductor and keyboardist Isaiah Shim currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and Columbia Pro Cantare, as well as Organist at St Louis Church.

Concerts in the region have been with the Annapolis Opera, Baltimore Chamber and Symphony Orchestras, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, Montgomery Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and Young Artists of America as well as performances in countries of four continents.

Mr. Shim received graduate degrees in conducting and collaborative piano from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University under the mentorship of Marin Alsop, Joseph Young, and Eileen Cornett. Additionally, he received Bachelor of Music degrees in piano performance and music education from Wheaton College in Illinois, where he studied with Drs Karin Redekopp Edwards, Daniel Sommerville, and John William Trotter.