Elbert Tsai

Pre-College
  • Violin
Elbert Tsai headshot

Contact

Departments

Pre-College

Education

Oberlin - BM Violin performance, minor in piano performance BA

MM Rice University (violin performance)

Graduate Diploma USC (violin performance) computer science

Q&A

What is your hometown?

San Jose, CA

What is your favorite recording?

I'll first go with an unusual choice of my friend (and cellist) David Requiro performing Brahms' F Major Sonata. And to include a violinist - Nicola Benedetti has a great live performance of the Elgar Violin Sonata on YouTube (filmed in Korea). I love both recordings for the variety of colors they bring out of the violin their emotional connection with the piece.

What are you passionate about outside of music?

I like to ski and play racquet sports

Who were your major teachers?

Robert Lipsett (violin) and Paul Katz (chamber music)

What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?

What mood are you trying to express here (because I don't hear one)?

What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?

Why can't I play this part?

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

For me, there was no defining moment. It was just a slow and gradual realization that I wanted to spend my life learning music and the violin.

What was a turning point in your career?

The most critical juncture for me was studying with Robert Lipsett as a graduate student at USC. He made me realize that all my problems had solutions, as long as I was willing to dedicate enough time to practice correctly.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

I'd like to think that I would be still living unconventionally, perhaps working in athletics or the food/wine industry.

What is your daily practice routine?

I always do scales in 3rds and fingered octaves, and some bow and vibrato exercises. Then I'll play something difficult but fun - Ysaye 6, Paganini Concerto, etc. After that, I'm ready to practice the music I'll be performing soon, or just get on with my day.

If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Mozart, Brahms, and Prokofiev. I find that those 3 keep surprising and challenging me, no matter how many times I return to the same pieces.

What is your unrealized project?

Start a chamber music series

Biography

Violinist Elbert Tsai leads a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, and sought-after pedagogue. He currently serves on the violin faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory Pre-College as well as Center Stage Strings at the University of Michigan School of Music. Guest faculty appointments include the Oberlin Conservatory and SFCM Collegiate Division. His students have competed at the Menuhin Competition, won awards from the YoungArts Foundation, and are regularly accepted to “From the Top,” Music@Menlo, NYO-USA, NYO2, Bowdoin Festival, Morningside Music Bridge, and Heifetz Institute. Elbert maintains an active performing schedule, his recitals having been featured recently at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts, Three Rivers Performing Arts Institute, and Bridges Hall at Pomona College. Early in his professional career, Elbert won positions with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, touring with the symphony throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Rice University, and Oberlin College. For more information, please visit www.elberttsai.com.