CHARISSA LEUNG

violinist

Charissa Leung, native of San Jose, CA, is one of the Nashville Symphony’s newest members, joining the ensemble’s 2nd violin section in the 2022-23 season. In addition to her busy orchestral schedule, chamber music projects have taken her to venues all over the country. The past couple of seasons have included engagements with the Nashville Chamber Music Society, Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, and Manchester Music Festival. In recent years she has performed at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy, received the String Quartet Fellowship at Madeline Island Chamber Music, attended the Aspen Music Festival, and made her solo debut with the Prometheus Symphony as the winner of the Khuner Concerto Competition in 2015. 

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Charissa believes that a career in music isn't just about the final performance, but the process of learning and building relationships alongside colleagues, teachers, and students. It is a mission of hers to provide inspiration and support to her students and young audience members, as she experienced (and still does!) from her own role models and teachers. Charissa is passionate about teaching, whether it be giving group lessons at the elementary school in which she grew up, teaching underprivileged aspiring musicians online through a non-profit organization called Through the Staff, or more recently, coaching adult amateur chamber groups. Charissa began her violin studies at age 3 with the Suzuki method, and graduated from the McDuffie Center for Strings where she double majored in Violin Performance and French as a recipient of a four-year Presidential scholarship. In 2021, she completed her Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Syoko Aki and Tai Murray at Yale University. Charissa loves rock climbing, baking focaccia, and admiring cats from afar.