Fox Chan - Violin

Fox Chan is a distinguished violinist, educator, and adjudicator. He currently lectures at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arco Music Academy (est. 2012), where his students have consistently achieved national and international acclaim. A devoted mentor, he regularly presents masterclasses across the Europe, United States, Australia, Russia, and China.

Highly sought after as a juror, Fox has served on the panels of numerous international violin and chamber music competitions. Notable appointments include the 2018 International Violin Competition in Guimarães, Portugal; the XII International Balys Dvarionas Competition in Lithuania (2024), where he served alongside esteemed artists Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Bartosz Bryla, and Jurgis Dvarionas; and the 30th Annual Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno (2025), where he has been invited to serve on the jury for the chamber music division.

In 2017, he founded the Fox International Music Association to support the next generation of musicians and promote global appreciation for classical music. He launched the Sydney International Music Festival in 2019, followed by the Sydney Chamber Music Project in 2024—an initiative dedicated to presenting compelling chamber music performances and fostering artistic collaboration.

As a recording artist, Fox was invited to record J.S. Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Piano and The Musical Offering for IPCJSB, the official label of the J.S. Bach International Piano Competition (Germany).

His contributions to music and the broader community have earned him national recognition. In 2018, he was nominated by the Australian Council as Citizen of the Year, and in 2020, he received the Australia Day Arts and Cultural Award. That same year, he was appointed guest professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music International Academy.

As a soloist, Fox has performed with leading orchestras including the Hunan Symphony Orchestra, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, and Xi’an Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra in China; the Schnittke and St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestras in Russia; the Orquesta Sinfonía de Michoacán in Mexico; and numerous ensembles across Australia. He has given acclaimed solo recitals throughout Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

A passionate chamber musician, he is the founding violinist of the Estivo Trio, known for its appearances at major festivals and venues worldwide.

Fox’s artistry has been recognized with numerous awards, including First Prize at the 2001 Guangdong National Violin Competition (China) and the title of Best International String Player at the 2010 Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand).

He began his musical studies in violin and piano at the age of four under the guidance of his mother, Professor Luni Chen. He later completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying with Professor Peter Shixiang Zhang and Associate Professor Alice Waten, where he was awarded the institution’s highest scholarship.

Fox Chan performs on an 1886 Eugenio Degani violin.