| Yi-Jia Susanne Hou | |
|---|---|
Hou performing with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, April 2009 |
|
| Chinese name | 侯以嘉 |
| Pinyin | Hóu Yǐjiā (Mandarin) |
| Origin | Shanghai, China |
| Born | 9 December 1977 Shanghai, China |
| Occupation | Violinist |
| Parents | Alec Hou musician |
| Official Website | www.susannehou.com |
Yi-Jia Susanne Hou (Chinese: 侯以嘉; pinyin: Hóu Yǐjiā, b. December 9, 1977 , Shanghai, China[1]) is a Canadian violinist.
Born in Shanghai and raised in Mississauga, Hou grew up in a musical family. At the age of nine, she studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). She went on to attend The Juilliard School where she studied with Dorothy DeLay, Naoko Tanaka, and Cho-Liang Lin. At Juilliard she completed BM and MM music degrees and received the Artist Diploma.
She captured 3 gold medals with unanimous decisions at international violin competitions: Concours International Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud (France, 1999), the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition (Italy, 1999) and the Pablo Sarasate International Violin Competition (Spain, 1997).
Hou’s new music video ‘The Devil’s Delight’, produced by Rhombus Media premiered on Bravo!TV in 2010; she also stars in a new documentary on the "Canada Council Instrument Bank", Produced by Rotating Planet and Directed by Ari Cohen for Bravo! She performed the violin solo in the Atom Egoyan film "Adoration" which won the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Festival de Cannes, featuring music composed by Mychael Danna. Hou was the subject of CBC’s 'The National' Documentary: Shanghai Sensation, revisiting her childhood in Shanghai, with her father, Alec Hou, a renowned violin pedagogue in China.
She also won first place in the Canadian Music Competition for three consecutive years, the Juilliard Dvořák Concerto Competition, the Juilliard-Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra Competition, and the F. Nakamichi Sibelius Violin Competition at the Aspen Music Festival.
Hou has also been awarded the loan of the 1729 “ex-Heath” Guarneri del Gesu violin by the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank Competition. She is the first ever violinist to earn First Place twice and did it consecutively (2003 and 2006).[2] In 2003 the instrument was valued at $2.75 million US Dollars.[3] Her bow was made by her father, Alec Hou.[4]
By age 17, Hou performed Paganini’s Twenty-four Caprices for Solo Violin in Toronto and Aspen. She has also performed all ten of Beethoven’s Piano and Violin Sonatas in New York as well as the complete collection of Brahms's Violin and Piano Sonatas and Piano Trios. Hou continues to perform as an international soloist and has recorded the Sibelius Violin Concerto and short works by Sarasate on her CD Fire & Ice with the Slovenia Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra among other recordings.
Sir Yehudi Menuhin referred to Hou as "absolutely phenomenal… one of the greatest young talents of the future…" and Jean-Jacques Kantorow, member of jury in the Concours International Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud said, “By the final round of the competition, Ms. Hou had the entire jury at her feet.”[5][6]
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