Yung-chiao Wei

Professor of Double Bass

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Biography

• The Strad Magazine, review of the "Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto" CD (February 2009)
  “The disc provides a searching examination of her formidable technique…she is uniquely gifted and [a] brilliant exponent of the instrument.”
• New York Concert Review Inc., review of Carnegie Hall debut recital (Spring 2004)
  “Bass Players with great technique and supreme artistry are non-existent. Well, there are a few exceptions: the legendary Gary Karr, of course, Eugene Levinson of the New York Philharmonic, and now Yung-chiao Wei, a young, multi-talented female bassist from Taiwan…Nuance on the double bass is hard to accomplish, but Wei plays with subtlety of dynamics, color and expression one seldom, if ever, hears on the bass…Wei is a phenomenon.” (Anthony Aible)
• Miami Herald, review of Bottesini Concerto No. 2 with the New World Symphony (1999)
  "A two sided-talent–a competition-winning pianist turned double bass virtuoso."
• International Society of Bassists Magazine, review of CD recording (Fall 2010)
  “Wei’s reading has extraordinary grace and poise…The performance is passionate and full of contrasts of the inevitable tragic story of Zhu Yintai and Liang Shanbo, with all the microtonal inflections so characteristics of Chinese instrumental and vocal music…Yung-chiao Wei is gifted and sensitive artist and I look forward very much to her next release.” (Rob Nairn)
• International Society of Bassists Magazine, report of live performance in the 2009 ISB Convention (Fall 2009)
  “The stunning Yung-chiao Wei pulled the heartstring of her audience with a beautiful rendition of Elgar’s Cello Concerto.”

Hailed by the New York Concert Review Inc. as “phenomenal” for her Carnegie Hall debut recital and described by the Miami Herald as "A two sided-talent–a competition-winning pianist turned double bass virtuoso," Yung-chiao Wei is an acclaimed international double bass soloist and educator who believes in the transformative power of music and the vital role of bringing musical performance and education to communities. 

Currently Professor of Double Bass at the LSU School of Music, Wei is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Louisiana Bass Festival and Co-founder of the Connect2Music Project. A frequent adjudicator in major double bass competitions (International Society of Bassists Solo Competition and International Sperger Competition for Double Bass), Wei also enjoys her students’ success in major national and international competitions (National YoungArts, International Society of Bassists, Stulberg International String Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition), orchestra and university positions both in the US and abroad, Grammy nominations, and the founding of a youth orchestra in Brazil, with the mission of bringing music to the underprivileged.

Highlights of Wei’s performing career include performances at Carnegie Hall in 2003 and 2017, France's Opéra Bastille, headlining the 2013 ISB Convention at Eastman Theater, and concerto appearances with seventeen orchestras across ten countries. As a chamber musician, Wei has collaborated with Leon Fleisher and James Ehnes. She has served as principal bassist with the New World Symphony, New York String Orchestra (Carnegie Hall), and Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra (Boston), in addition to performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. She has traveled to four continents to give concerts and master classes at venues including Eastman School of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Yale School of Music, New England Conservatory, Boston University, Berlin University of the Arts, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Japan Double Bass Seminar, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Taipei University of the Arts, Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and Shanghai Conservatory, among others.

Notable awards include winning the 1st prize in Taiwan's Young Concert Artist Competition, 2nd Prize (the highest awarded) and Audience Prize in the Izuminomori International Double Bass / Cello Competition in Japan, in which Gary Karr served as chairman, and the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation Teaching Award. Wei has also secured $48,860 in competitive grants, including the 2014 Award to Louisiana Artists and Scholars from the Louisiana Board of Regents for recording and publishing her transcriptions of the Elgar Cello Concerto and Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2, and commissioning new works for double bass from composers such as Matthew Tommasini, the Director of the New York Philharmonic's Very Young Composers Program, and Ming-hsiu Yen, Associate Professor of Composition at Taipei University of the Arts.

As one of the few female bassists performing at the international level, Wei is deeply committed to making the instrument accessible to students of all physical builds and backgrounds. Through her experience overcoming physical challenges and exploring methods to more effectively help her students, she developed the Effortless Ways methodology, integrating natural body movement, breathing technique, and mind-body awareness to navigate the physical demands of playing the double bass. This methodology incorporates the Taichi horse stance, power yoga, and breathing techniques to aid students in developing proper posture, complete body awareness, and physical and mental strength required to play the instrument. Her methodology earned recognition from The Strad Magazine in their December 2023 interview "Mind over Matter: Finding Effortless Ways to Play." 

Wei received her Master’s degree with honors from the New England Conservatory and Bachelor’s degree with a Performance Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her teachers include James Vandemark, Lawrence Wolfe, Stuart Sankey, Jeff Turner, Derek Weller, Peter Dominguez and Claudia Chen. Wei’s recording of the Chinese violin concerto, “Butterfly Lovers,” and the Brahms 1st Cello Sonata is available on Centaur Records. Her transcription of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Brahms 2nd Cello Sonata, and commissioned works by Ming-hsiu Yen and Matthew Tommasini is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, and Sheet Music Plus.