Lim Chun

Violin, Viola, Theory

Master of Music
Peabody Institute of Music, The John Hopkins University

Bachelor of Music
Peabody Institute of Music, The John Hopkins University

Lim Chun was principal violist for both the Singapore Youth Orchestra and the Asian Youth Orchestra before he began his studies at the Peabody Institute of Music at the age of 17, where on a full scholarship, he received his Bahelor and Master Degrees. His teacher was Joseph De Pasquale and he had also participated in the masterclasses of Emanuel Vardi, Roberto Diaz and Heidi Castleman. During his second year at Peabody, he was given an award for his outstanding achievements as a violist. That same year, he began to freelance in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, playing under the batons of David Zinman, James Depreist and Yuri Temirkanov.

Chun had performed chamber music at the United Nations and the White House, toured China and Korea as soloist in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote with Yo Yo Ma under the direction of Sergiu Comissiona, and had played Walton’s Viola Concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under Lim Yau.

After his national service, Chun went onto Yale University on a full-scholarship to study with Jesse Levine. A few months into his studies at Yale, he was handpicked by Lorin Maazel and became a founding member of his Orquesta de la Comunitat Valenciana, the resident orchestra of the opera theatre, the Palau de les Arts, in Valencia, Spain. There he had worked with Zubin Mehta (director of the theatre’s summer festival), Placido Domingo, Valery Gergiev, and Georges Pretre. In addition to being a member of the viola section, he also had chances to serve as principal or assistant principal on a few occasions, including performances of Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri, in which he led the violas for the noted Rossini specialist, Alberto Zedda.

He was the viola principal of the Asian Youth Alumni Orchestra for the Asian Youth Orchestra’s 20th anniversary celebration in Hong Kong, 2010.

Lim Chun relocated back to Singapore in the summer of 2014, and has been active with both the viola and the violin across various musical genres. In 2015, he played the world premiere of local composer Chen Zhangyi’s Viola Concerto and also Bruch’s Double Concerto with the NUSSO under the direction of Lim Soon Lee. He coaches the viola sections of the National University of Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. His violin playing can be heard in many local productions, including the theme songs of the drama series “Crescendo”, Xinyao documentary “The Songs We Sang”, and the movie “My Love, Sinema”.