“Possessed of a superb talent” (The Australian), with “a searing and poetic tone” (The Guardian), violinist Emily Sun is in demand internationally for her compelling and captivating interpretations.
Her genuine connection with audiences and engaging presence have thrilled her growing audiences, as she performs as a concerto soloist with leading orchestras, as a chamber musician and recitalist in major concert halls around the globe.
Emily is the 2024 Artist-in-Association with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, with several concerto appearances during the season including the world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Violin Concerto, which received 5 star reviews “The memorable premiere of a new musical landmark, Elena Kats-Chernin’s violin concerto, featuring a wondrous performance by violinist Emily Sun”(5* Limelight Magazine) and the Australian premiere of Fazil Say’s Violin Sonata No 2 ‘Kaz Daglari’.
Upcoming projects include recordings and performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with conductors Mark Wigglesworth, Andrew Litton, Shiyeon Sung and Johannes Fritzsch. Emily will make her debut with Johannesburg Philharmonic and return to Western Australia Symphony Orchestra to play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Asher Fisch.
Recent performances have included with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Qingdao Symphony Orchestra working with conductors Vasily Petrenko, Jaime Martin, and Benjamin Northey. As a concerto soloist, Emily has appeared globally with orchestras including all the Australian symphony orchestras, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Royal Wallonie and Orchestre de Chambre Namur in Europe; Arlington and Arizona Symphonies in the USA; and Shanghai Youth Orchestra and Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China.
Emily’s solo album, Nocturnes, was released on ABC Classics/Universal to critical acclaim; it reached No. 1 for four weeks in the ARIA Classical Charts and was shortlisted for ‘Best Classical Album 2021’ in the ARIA Awards. Emily also features in a Rubicon Classics disc on the forgotten chamber works of Robert Kahn which received a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine. Emily’s next release for ABC Classics in Spring 2024 will be a concerto disc of Korngold, Williams and the world premiere recording of the new Kats-Chernin concerto.
Emily was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace alongside Maxim Vengerov in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto at the Royal Gala in the presence of King Charles III, and at the Royal Palace of Brussels in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium.
As a teen, Emily shot to national fame after being featured in the acclaimed award-winning Australian documentary ‘Mrs Carey’s Concert’. Her media presence continues as the ABC Artist-in-Residence, BBC Introducing Artist, regular broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Kol Hamusica (Israel), WXQR (USA), and Musiq 3 (Belgium).
Awards and prizes have included the Tagore Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music, the 2018 ABC Young Performers Award (Australia), the 2016 Royal Overseas League Music Competition (UK), and the Brahms (Austria), Yampolsky (Russia) and Lipizer (Italy) international violin competitions. She was a Young Concert Artist for the Tillett Trust, The Worshipful Company of Musicians and City Music Foundation.
Emily studied with Dr Robin Wilson (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), Itzhak Rashkovsky (Royal College of Music, London), Augustin Dumay (Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, Belgium), and received further mentoring from Pinchas Zukerman, Maxim Vengerov and Ivry Gitlis.
Emily is currently Violin Professor at the Royal College of Music, London, and she performs on a 1753 G.B. Guadagnini ‘The Adelaide’ violin, kindly loaned to her by the UKARIA Cultural Trust.