A recent graduate of The Juilliard School, Kun Yan joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2023 as Associate Principal Second Violin.
Hailing from Hunan, China, Yan began playing the violin at the age of 5 and made her solo début with the Hunan Symphony Orchestra at 8. Yan holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied under the guidance of Ronald Copes, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory (NEC), under the tutelage of Ayano Ninomiya. Prior to joining the TSO, Yan served as concertmaster of the Music Academy of the West during the summer of 2022, receiving coaching from Glenn Dicterow, Rainer Honeck, and Jorja Fleezanis. As Principal Second Violin, Yan toured with the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYO-China) in 2017 and 2019. She collaborated with Yuja Wang and Garrick Ohlsson, performing at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, Konzerthaus Berlin, and other renowned locations in the UK, Italy, and China. During NYO-China’s 2019 European tour, she was selected to perform at the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Yan has also participated in music festivals including the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, Bowdoin, and Morningside Music Bridge.
A devoted chamber music enthusiast, Yan participated in the Honors Chamber Music Program at both schools she attended. She is a founding member of the Blanche String Quartet at NEC and a member of the VIA Piano Trio at Juilliard. Yan’s chamber groups have performed at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, Jordan Hall, and Harvard University. Her primary chamber coaches and mentors include Jerome Lowenthal, Orli Shaham, Joseph Lin, and Ronald Copes, and she has received coaching from members of the Borromeo, Brentano, and Emerson String Quartets.