Chen Jun

Chen Jun is a renowned erhu performer in China. He is a member of the Chinese Musicians Association and the vice president of the erhu society of the Association. Born in 1968 in Jiangsu, Chen Jun studied erhu with his father, erhu maestro Chen Yaoxing, and entered the Department of Composition of the Central Conservatory, the Department of National Chinese Music in the Chinese Society Conservatory of Music and the Department of Arts in the PLA Art Academy studying erhu performance and composition theory. He won the third prize of the National competition of young instrumentalists in 1982 and the second prize of Beijing erhu competition for the young in 1983. He was also the winner of the erhu division, the first Cup of Shan Cheng TV national instrument contest in 1989. As a soloist, Chen Jun has performed extensively in the Mainland and overseas and many of his live performances have been broadcast all over the country on China Central Television. He possesses all-round performing skills, masterful technique, pure quality of sound, polished and exquisite tone colour and a thoughtful and distinctive interpretation of music. Other than performance, he creates erhu pieces in brand-new style, and both his compositions and performances carry a strong sense of our time. He has performed in over ten different countries in the US, Europe, Asia, Hong Kong and Macau among others, to great acclaim. His masterful playing has made him one of the foremost erhu performer in China today.

In the summer of 1997 in Hong Kong, he made a successful performance with L'Orchestre national de Lille which aroused the audiences’ attention. His recordings include The legend of Hu gong I & II, The Butterfly Lovers and Xian Yu and have been distributed in over 70 countries all over the world. In 2000, Chen Jun acted as Liu Tianhua, the legendary erhu maestro in the award-winning movie Liu Tianhua (Best Picture in the Hua Biao Chinese Movie Awards), and won Best Actor in the 11th Shanghai Film Critics Awards.