Ms. Wen Qian was hailed by China Daily as “one of China’s most
promising young violinists” and in a 2004 Strad magazine review
titled “Rare Thrill” featuring Ms. Qian after her Carnegie Hall
recital, music critic Dennis Rooney commented “ it was performed
with enough insight and panache to thrill a listener while at the
same time raising the question of why such results are so rarely
achieved.“.

Ms. Qian has been a first violinist with the Metropolitan Orchestra
since 1997, where she continues to serve as the acting Assistant
Concertmaster. On top of her busy schedule at the Met, Ms. Qian
also enjoys an active career as a soloist, chamber musician and
educator throughout China, America and Europe.

Ms. Qian began to shine as concertmaster under Valery Gergiev in
1994 at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, her solos in
“Scheherazade” had brought her to the front page of German
newspaper “Kieler Nachrichten”. The featured review read: ” whose
tenderness was as much musically correct as it was sensual; as
much technically perfect as it was expressive, Wen Qian, the young
concertmistress demonstrated a true sensibility and
self-confidence.”. Since then she has been invited to be a guest
concertmaster with the Philharmonia of the Nation of Germany,
Jupiter Symphony of New York, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Tianjin
Symphony Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony. As a soloist, Ms.
Qian has performed with orchestras such as the Central
Philharmonic of China, Beijing Symphony, Shanghai Symphony,
Guangzhou Symphony, South Shore Symphony, the Centre
Symphony, the Met Orchestra Ensemble and the Mannes Orchestra.

Ms. Qian has also been an avid chamber musician, she has
performed in music festivals and concert series including the
Marlboro, Tanglewood, Sarasota festivals, and the Met Chamber
Music series at Carnegie Hall as well as the Young Concert Artist
Series presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
She has collaborated with numerous world renowned musicians
including Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchita, Leslie Parnas, Nobuko
Imai, James Levine, and the members of the Beaux Arts Trio,
Guarneri Quartet and Juilliard Quartet. In the past few summers,
Ms. Qian performed and coached at the Talis Music Festival in
Switzerland, and Cadenza Festival in Beijing, China.

Now a Violin Professor at Mannes College of Music at the New
School University, the demands for Ms. Qian’s teaching have
brought her to Master Classes and coachings at the New World
Symphony in Miami, New York Youth Symphony, NYU, the Central
Conservatory of Beijing, Shanghai Conservatory, and various music
schools in Taiwan. Since year 2000, Ms. Qian has taught the Violin
Class at Mannes that focuses on orchestra auditions, and some
graduates of her class have won jobs at the MET Orchestra,
Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony,
Detroit Symphony and New Orleans Symphony. In 2019, she was
the Artist in Residence at the NYO China, coaching the top young
musicians in China. During the pandemic, Ms. Qian went to
Taiwan with her family, she was invited to give over 40
masterclasses in top music schools there and also was the Artist in
Residence in National Tsinghua University.

Ms. Qian studied with Felix Galimir at the Mannes College of Music
in New York City where she obtained her Bachelor and Master of
Music degrees as well as her Professional Studies Diploma, she was
awarded the highest honor of the Excellence in Performance Award
upon graduation. Ms. Qian has served as the vice president of the
William Lincer Foundation, and been on the panel of the New York
State Council of the Arts.