Tina Qu is wrapping up her first year as Instructor of Violin at Interlochen Arts Academy.
She's a busy person, so we were thrilled to get some time with her to discuss how she got to Interlochen and where her career has taken her so far.
"It's a very fulfilling lifestyle," Qu said of her career.
She not only teaches at Interlochen but she also maintains an active performance schedule in Los Angeles and around the world.
Qu has been a guest artist with major orchestras and conductors like Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel and Michael Tilson Thomas.
She's also collaborated with musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Andre Watts and Placido Domingo.
Qu has even shared the stage with pop stars like Taylor Swift, Faith Hill and Earth, Wind & Fire. Perhaps most memorable was appearing onstage with Adele at the Oscars.
Qu has frequently performed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the LA Phil.
You've probably heard her play without realizing it because also recorded dozens of film scores.
Her first film score was "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which was composed by Hans Zimmer.
Qu came to Interlochen sight unseen: all of her interviews took place on Zoom, so she accepted the teaching position and moved to northern Michigan without having visited the area.
"I came with an open mind, even though I knew very little about this region and this part of the country," she said.
Despite the cold weather, which is quite a change from Los Angeles, Qu loves the natural setting here and the warm welcomes her faculty colleagues at Interlochen have given her.
Case in point: she performed music of Johannes Brahms in Studio A with Interlochen instructor of piano T.J. Lymenstull. The two played the second movement of the D minor sonata, which will appear on a future faculty recital.
Qu learned that particular Brahms sonata during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this recording in IPR's Studio A is the first time she has performed any part of it publicly.
She's done it all, from orchestras to operas to films to chamber music to the Oscars. Is there one kind of music that she loves more than the others?
Yes, and no.
"My passion and love is in all forms of music-making," she said. "That includes all of the above."
Tina Qu will give a faculty recital at Interlochen Center for the Arts in the fall of 2022.
Stefan Wiebe engineered this edition of Studio A.
