Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music Appoints New Violin Professor 

David Chan, concertmaster of the Met Opera Orchestra, will be joining the school in the fall

The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, has announced the appointment of David Chan as a new Professor of Violin. He will start full-time in the fall of 2025. 

Chan joins Shepherd’s violin faculty after 25 seasons as concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and as a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music (MSM), the latter of which he served as Head of the Orchestral Performance program. 

In his new role, Chan will maintain a full violin studio, teach orchestral repertoire and chamber music, plus lead creative labs, where students will workshop new commissions, ensemble readings, and develop new projects, including cross-discipline initiatives. 

He will also join the school’s current violin faculty members — Paul Kantor, Cho-Liang Lin, and Kathleen Winkler.

In preparation for the new position, Chan will be moving to Houston this summer and will gradually phase out of his roles at Juilliard and MSM over the next two years. 

Additionally, as an interim step, the Metropolitan Opera has granted him a one-year leave of absence from his concertmaster role. 

“I’ve had the privilege of making music at the very highest level for the past 25 years in one of the world’s great orchestras,” Chan expressed. “Now the time has come in my career to share everything I’ve learned with the young people who represent the future of our magnificent art. Joining the fantastic community of colleagues and students at Rice is the perfect opportunity to do that.”

“This appointment results from Shepherd’s decades-long initiative to build one of the finest orchestral programs in the country,” said Dean Matthew Loden. “David’s vast experience with the orchestral and operatic repertoire and his gift for teaching the next generation of talent is a perfect fit for Shepherd’s ensemble-building focus. That our graduates are joining top-ranking orchestras around the world can largely be attributed to our distinguished faculty and specialized instruction. We’re very fortunate to welcome David to that illustrious group as we continue to celebrate our 50th anniversary.” 

“David’s multifaceted career is awe-inspiring,” added Winkler, who chaired the search committee. “He is a world-class soloist, a devoted educator and mentor, and the esteemed director of music festivals and leadership programs worldwide. The breadth of knowledge and expertise he will bring to the Shepherd School of Music is sensational. We are all thrilled to have him join our ranks.”

A native of San Diego, Chan made his New York debut in 1995 and his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, after winning prizes at the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis international violin competitions. He is a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School, where his mentors included Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and Michael Tseitlin. 

Chan has played solo with orchestras including the Met Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Taiwan National Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, and the San Diego, Indianapolis, Richmond, Springfield, and Northbrook symphony orchestras. As a guest artist, he has performed at the Pacific Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.  

He also serves as Principal Conductor of the Apollo Orchestra, Director of the Credo Festival, plus was recently named Artistic Director of the Taipei Music Academy and Festival.