Vivian Wen-Wen Hou was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She began playing the piano at the age of 6 and violin at age 7, and she came to the United States when she was 13. Hou received her master’s degree in Violin performance from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and her bachelor’s degree in music from the University of California, Berkeley. She was in the studio of Herbert Greenberg, the former concertmaster of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, while at Peabody, and she studied with Hrabba Atladottir at UC Berkeley. Hou played in several orchestras including San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and Peabody Conductors Orchestra under Marin Alsop’s baton.

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Some of her major awards and performances include:

• Melissa Tiller Memorial Prize in Violin at Peabody Institute of Music, May 2016.

• Admitted into Napa Valley’s music festival, Festival Del Sole, as the assistant principal of Violin II, conducted by Martin West, the conductor of San Francisco Ballet, and worked with musicians from the Russian National Orchestra, July 2013.

• The Eisner Prize for Creative Achievement of the Highest Order in Music at UC Berkeley, May 2013.

• Won the UC Berkeley Concerto Competition in November 2012, performed Dvorak Violin Concerto with UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra on April 2013.

• Selected as one of the two violinists by UC Berkeley Department of Music to perform Berg’s Wozzeck with London Philharmonia at UC Berkeley, LA Disney Concert Hall, and NY Lincoln Center under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, October-November 2012.

• Invited to perform at Taiwan Double-Ten National Celebration Day’s Banquet organized by the Taiwanese embassy in San Francisco, October 2011 & 2012.

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​*Note: Ms. Vivian is a Distinguished Faculty member and offers lessons under our Distinguished Faculty tuition rate. Please contact us for more information.