In 1997, Mr. Chang joined violinists Robert Chen and Soovin Kim and cellist Peter Stumpf to found the Johannes String Quartet.  Its debut performances at Philadelphia’s Ethical Society and at Carnegie Hall received glowing reviews.

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Sunday, July 28, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Beethoven Septet & Brahms Trio

Monday, July 29, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Beethoven Septet & Brahms Trio

Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 PM at Simms Auditorium/Albuquerque Academy
Schumann Songs, Schubert Strings

Thursday, August 1, 12:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Johannes String Quartet

Thursday, August 1, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Schumann Songs, Schubert Strings

Saturday, August 3, 5:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
All J.S. Bach

Sunday, August 4, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Mahler – Songs of a Wayfarer

Monday, August 5, 6:00 PM at St. Francis Auditorium
Mahler – Songs of a Wayfarer

A native of Seoul, Korea, Choong-Jin Chang joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as associate principal viola in November 1994 and became principal viola in April 2006.  He made his performance debut as a 12-year-old violinist with the Seoul Philharmonic as winner of the grand prize in Korea’s Yook Young National Competition.  In 1981, at the age of 13, he moved to the United States to attend the Juilliard School.  He subsequently studied in Philadelphia at the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University and, finally, at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received degrees in both violin and viola.  His primary teachers were Jascha Brodsky and retired Philadelphia Orchestra principal viola Joseph De Pasquale.

As a soloist, Mr. Chang has appeared recently with the KBS Symphony of South Korea and the Temple University Symphony.  An ardent chamber musician, he has given recitals throughout the United States and Korea, and has also performed in numerous chamber music festivals here and abroad, including the Marlboro Festival (both in Vermont and several times on tour), Bridgehampton, Seattle, and Santa Fe.  The list of distinguished musicians with whom he has collaborated includes Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Jaime Laredo, André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, and, most recently, Yo-Yo Ma, with whom he performed as viola soloist in Strauss’s Don Quixote with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1997, Mr. Chang joined violinists Robert Chen and Soovin Kim and cellist Peter Stumpf to found the Johannes String Quartet.  Its debut performances at Philadelphia’s Ethical Society and at Carnegie Hall received glowing reviews.  Since then the Quartet has performed to audience and critical acclaim throughout the United States.

Alongside his extensive performing activities, Mr. Chang is a respected teacher on both violin and viola.  Among his former pupils are current members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as several winners of major competitions.  He currently serves on the faculty of Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music and Temple Music Prep.