Educational Background

Tristan started his music education at a young age, beginning with the piano at age 5 and a half years old, after which he transitioned to playing the violin at around age 6. Throughout his youth, he studied with many distinguished violinists such as Peter Zazofsky, Angelo (Xiang) Yu, Donald Weilerstein, Paul Cantor, and Bayla Keyes, among others. Additionally, Tristan attended various youth orchestras, such as the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra in the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Greater Boston Asian American Youth Symphony Orchestra. He also participated in the Aspen Music Festival several times. Tristan attended Bard College and Conservatory of music, where he studied with Weigang Li (of the Shanghai String Quartet) and Shmuel Ashkenazi. He graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics from Bellevue University.

Teaching Background

Tristan was privileged to have a violin teacher in his family; his teaching experience began when he was in high school, as he tutored his stepfather’s violin students. He also has had experience leading and teaching violinists in orchestra rehearsals for the Greater Boston Asian American Youth Symphony. In college he taught violin students privately, and he was also a masterclass teacher for students in 2019 in Shandong,
China.

Teaching Style/Personality

Tristan loves to inspire his students. He believes that motivation is the key to both practicing more and practicing more efficiently. So, if possible, Tristan inspires his students to enjoy playing music. Moreover, he enjoys engaging with the musical ideas of his students, no matter what their level might be. Tristan is flexible about the material he assigns to his students. When it comes to basic skills, Tristan is a firm believer that traditional fundamental violin studies and exercises combined with fun repertoire is the best path for success for many students. However, he is also open to other systems of learning the violin, such as the Suzuki method or the O’Connor method.

Special Skills

Tristan has a deep understanding of how to practice the violin, and he enjoys teaching his students how to practice effectively. By teaching students the skills they need to practice, Tristan encourages his students to use their practice time more efficiently. Importantly, when combined with the motivation to practice, Tristan’s approach to teaching practice skills could gradually create students who are ready to become less reliant on their teacher, and thus, more prepared for advanced violin studies.