Emily Sun

Possessed of a superb talent’ (The Australian), with ‘a searing and poetic tone’ (The Guardian), violinist Emily Sun’s powerful sound and compelling, captivating interpretations have won her international renown. Awards and prizes have included the Tagore Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music, the 2018 ABC Young Performers Award (Australia), the 2016 Royal Overseas League Music Competition (UK), and the Brahms (Austria), Yampolsky (Russia) and Lipizer (Italy) International Violin Competitions.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Artist-in-Association in 2023 – including for the critically acclaimed world premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s violin concerto, ‘Fantasie im Wintergarten’ commissioned for Emily and described as “engrossing” and “magical” (Limelight) – the 2024 season sees Emily continue in this role, performing the Barber and Bruch violin concerti with the ASO in two separate programs conducted by Andrew Litton, and Shiyeon Siung. Emily also makes her soloist debut with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, performing the Korngold concerto, conducted by Johannes Fritzsch and with the Johannesburg Phiharmonic Orchestra. Next year also features chamber performances at UKARIA Cultural Centre with pianist Joseph Havlat, and Hayllar’s Music and Mountains Festival in New Zealand, masterclasses, and the highly anticipated release of Emily’s second album for ABC Classic in late 2024 featuring the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. 

Season highlights in 2022/2023 have included the Bruch, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven concertos with the Sydney, Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras with conductors Vasily Petrenko, Mark Wigglesworth, Jaime Martín, Asher Fisch, Tan Dun and Benjamin Northey, and with the London Mozart Players conducted by Howard Griffiths. Chamber music engagements in Australia include for the Australian Festival of Classical Music (Townsville), Musica Viva Tasmania, Bendigo Chamber Music Festival (VIC) and at Adelaide’s Elder Hall with pianist Andrea Lam featuring the Australian premiere of Fazil Say’s Kaz Dağları. Emily has also featured in recital for Sydney Festival, national touring for Musica Viva Australia, and as soloist with the EU Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Royal Wallonie, Orchestre de Chambre Namur; the Arlington and Arizona Symphony Orchestras in USA, and the Shanghai Symphony and Qingdao Symphony Orchestras (China).  

Emily Sun has been ABC Artist-in-Residence, and BBC Introducing Artist, with regular broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Kol Hamusica (Israel), WXQR (USA), and Musiq 3 (Belgium), and featured in the acclaimed Australian documentary ‘Mrs Carey’s Concert’. Significant solo debuts include Sydney Opera House, Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Tchaikovsky Great Hall Moscow, and Seoul Arts Centre. Emily was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace alongside Maxim Vengerov in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto at the Royal Gala in the presence of HRH Prince of Wales, and at the Royal Palace of Brussels in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium. Chamber collaborators have included Maxim Vengerov, Gary Hoffman, Danny Driver, Umberto Clerici and Andrea Lam. 

Her acclaimed debut album, Nocturnes (ABC Classics) with pianist Andrea Lam, was described in the Sydney Morning Herald as “a winner on every count”, reaching no. 1 on the classical charts and nominated for ‘Best Classical Album’ in the 2021 ARIA Awards. Sun’s notable recording as part of Ensemble Émigré of Robert Kahn’s Music from the Tree of Life (Rubicon Classics) earned 5 stars from BBC Music Magazine. 

Emily is a Violin Professor at the Royal College of Music London, and performs on a 1753 G.B. Guadagnini ‘The Adelaide’ violin, generously loaned to her by the UKARIA Cultural Trust.  

“Sun thrilled the audience with her musical verve and dazzled them with her precision… Each note Sun played shimmered in the air like a perfectly-formed icicle.” 
– ArtsHub, June 2022 (live review, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra/ cond. Benjamin Northey) 

“Today, London-based Emily Sun is on the verge of international superstardom. And what a captivating album is her debut recording, Nocturnes… Sun and her formidable [pianist] Andrea Lam shine.. Sun has a silvery tone, refined and somewhat understated.. Lam, meanwhile, communicates an assuredness born of reflection on the ethos of the works themselves. Together, they accompany us through the sonic gardens of Monet. This listener can hardly wait for their second release together…” [5 stars] 
– The Australian (Review, 14-15 August, 2021) 

 Website | Nocturnes album (ABC Classics)