With a sound palette ranging from a ‘commanding tone’ to ‘delicate sentiment’ (Calgary Herald), Taiwanese-American violinist Zenas Hsu enjoys a vibrant career filled with chamber music, orchestral leadership, and education. He is a member of A Far Cry, a Grammy nominated ensemble in Boston and second violin principal at the Boston Ballet. He has served as guest concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Brockton Symphony, Chorus pro Musica, and Monadnock Music Symphony Orchestra. Zenas also performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and Esplanade, and as a tenured member of Boston Lyric Opera.

As a passionate chamber musician and educator, Zenas is a founding member of Chamber Music by the Bay, a California-based interactive music series designed for schools, libraries, and public spaces. He is a sectional coach at the New England Conservatory of Music, and coaches chamber music at Portland Summer Ensembles, Walnut Hill, and Rivers Conservatory. His appearances the past year include string quartet collaborations with the Royal Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow, solo performances with the Boston Ballet’s Fall Experience program, and chamber music concerts at Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Series, Craftsbury Chamber Players, Sarasa Ensemble, and with musicians of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

As an advocate of new music, Zenas has enjoyed personally working with composers such as Jorg Widmann, Carlos Simon, Philip Glass, and Lembit Beecher on commissioned or premiered works. He has premiered works also of Jungyoon Wie, Robert Honstein, Matthew Aucoin, and Jessie Montgomery.

A native of California, Zenas received his early training in the preparatory division of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He was accepted at age sixteen to the Curtis Institute of Music for his Bachelor of Music degree, and received his Master of Music and Graduate Diploma degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music. His teachers include Wei He, Ida Kavafian, Nicholas Kitchen, and Donald Weilerstein.