Canadian violist Sharon Wei is a dynamic and multi-faceted musician, establishing herself as one of the most respected violists on the scene today. She has appeared as concerto soloist with orchestras such as Symphony of the Redwoods, Kingston Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto, Orchestra of Southern Utah, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra. She will premiere Richard Mascall’s “Ziigwan” viola concerto with the London Symphonia in 2022. She has performed recital tours under the auspices of Debut Atlantic and Prairie Debut.

As a chamber musician, she regularly takes part at international festivals such as Verbier, Marlboro, Prussia Cove, Banff, Seattle, and Ravinia. Sharon has performed with renowned musicians including James Ehnes, Lynn Harrell, Gary Hoffman, Claude Frank, Joseph Silverstein, James Campbell, and the Amernet, New Orford, and St. Lawrence String Quartets. Sharon co-founded Ensemble Made in Canada in 2006. Their recent Mosaïque Project was nominated for a 2021 JUNO and toured to every province and territory in Canada in both traditional venues and eclectic ones, such as the seabed of Hopewell Rocks at low tide.

Sharon has been guest principal violist of the Cincinnati Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, and Ensemble Matheus in Paris. She has been a guest violist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on their 2021 Grammy recording of Ives’ Symphonies.

Sharon was on faculty at Yale and Stanford University and is currently Associate Professor of viola at Western University. She has given masterclasses at the American Viola Society Festival, Beijing Conservatory, and universities across Canada. In summers she is a regular faculty violist at Curtis Summerfest, Scotia Festival, Tuckamore Festival, and Orford Academy. At Western, Sharon has created a course for performance majors in which students learn off-stage initiatives such as networking, grant writing, website design, and managing finances. Sharon won the viola prize at Yale University and has been the recipient of grants through the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, FACTOR, and Western University.

Learn more about the New Orford String Quartet here