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Virginia Chen Wells

Violin

Virginia Chen Wells received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, where she was an Angier Biddle Duke Scholar.

The A.B. Duke Scholarship afforded her a summer of study at Oxford University, and during that summer, the A.J. Fletcher Scholarship also enabled her to study violin with the British concert violinist and teacher, Manoug Parikian. Ginny received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and was fortunate to study with Glenn Dicterow, Laurie Carney, and Daniel Avshalomov. She served as Associate Concertmaster of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony from 1987 to 1991 and has been a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1991.

In addition to touring with the TSO, Virginia toured South America as a member of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble and participated in the Edinburgh Festival as a member of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Prior to joining the TSO, Ginny worked with legendary conductors Leonard Bernstein and Sergiu Celibidache at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

Outside of the TSO, Ginny is involved in community service and helps lead a grassroots organization called Heart to Hand, which serves families under the care of Catholic Children’s Aid and also provides aid to other organizations such as the Daily Bread Food Bank. Ginny and her husband, Mark, enjoy supporting various musicians and musical groups by hosting concerts and small fundraisers in their home.

Although she came to Canada in 1987, Ginny is a “Southern girl”, born in Radford, Virginia, to Taiwanese parents and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. She and her husband have a son and a daughter.