Q & A
“MONTCLAIR IS ONE OF THE ONLY PLACES WHERE WE COULD PULL THIS OFF.
IT’S A PHILANTHROPIC, CULTURAL, ARTISTICALLY SAVVY COMMUNITY,
WITH ACCESS TO THE BEST OF THE BEST BECAUSE IT’S CLOSE TO NEW YORK.”
DAVID CHAN
At age 17, you won the fifth prize at the
International Tchaikovsky Competition, which is
held every four years in Moscow. What was that
like? I come from San Diego. It’s not the center of the
music world, and to hold my own with violinists from
around the world showed me that I had at least the
potential to measure up in that field. You can
have that shock, having been a big fish in a
small pond, when you come to the Julliard
School [where Chan received his master’s
degree] and so many people are better
than you. Getting a top prize at a major
international competition was a huge
confidence booster.
You became a concertmaster at
the Metropolitan Opera in 2000,
and three years later, made your
Carnegie Hall solo debut. You also
teach at Julliard. What made
you want to segue to conducting?
I’ve been fortunate to achieve
a certain level of playing on
my instrument, and am
lucky that my primary
concern every time I
pick up my violin is
what I’m expressing.
Conducting is a natural
outgrowth of that. How
can I express not just
myself, but convey
through the musicians
in front of me what we
can express together?
54
FALL 2017 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
How did you hear about the Montclair Orchestra,
and what drew you to it? I learned about it fortuitous-
ly. My family lives in Closter, and my wife saw a posting on
social media. My commute puts Montclair in the middle
between home and work. If I took a conducting post
somewhere else, I would have to travel and take time off
from the Met schedule, which would be challenging.
What will your Montclair Orchestra schedule
be like? This is our inaugural season, and we have
five programs scheduled, which is a good beginning.
We want to grow in the community, and think it’s better
to leave people wanting more than to overschedule.
After our kick-off concert Oct. 22, we’ll perform
four more times between December and May.
Who plays in the ensemble? We’re semi-professional.
There are professional musicians and accomplished
musicians from conservatories, plus there are highly-
trained avocational musicians who play at the
highest level. There are professionals from the
Met, colleagues from the Philharmonic and the
New Jersey Symphony, and freelancers from the
metro area. And students from Montclair State
University, Rutgers, Julliard, the Manhattan
School and the Mannes School, where I’m
on the faculty.
What are your thoughts
about Montclair as a setting
for a new orchestra?
Montclair is one of the only
places where we could pull
this off. It’s a philanthropic,
cultural, artistically savvy
community, with access
to the best of the best
because it’s close to New
York. The Cali School of
Music is in town, and
on top of that, there
are supportive institu-
tions that help us
grow, so we’re not
just standing on
our own. n
Are you from a musical family? I’m the first musi-
cian in my family. I was 4 years old and in preschool when
students of the Suzuki method [of playing the violin] did a
demonstration, and my parents thought I should try it. It
was a happy accident. I used the Suzuki method for three
years, then switched to much more traditional schooling
with a Russian teacher. Suzuki emphasizes group learning
and learning by ear before you go on to read music.
It makes sense for educating young children, but the
old school method has worked for a very long time.