The Minds Behind BenFeng
MinTze Wu
Founder / Artistic Director / Violin
MinTze Wu is a violinist of many passions, and a visionary with illuminating artistry. A native of Taiwan and deeply rooted in the richness of chamber music tradition, MinTze interweaves words, movements, and other theatrical elements to create a compelling narrative and a multi-dimensional experience for performers and audiences alike. She has been heard on stages from the pubs in Poland, opera houses in Italy, concert halls in Australia, the United States, Taiwan, and the remote villages in Newfoundland. She was a member of Azmari Quartet from 2003-2005, enjoyed a short stint with Australian Chamber Orchestra, involved as the artist-in-residence at Gros Morne Summer Music from 2006-2013, and founded Sounds of Lyons in 2009. Her driving force is to make music accessible, attainable, and available for all.
Infused with spirit, precision, and soulfulness, MinTze founded BenFeng Music Productions in 2013 and played the role as producer and artistic director to several signature productions including the revolutionary production of Benjamin Britten’s Opera “The Turn of the Screw” (2022) performed BenFeng style (barefeet, memorized, onstage, and without a conductor).
Since moving to Carbondale with her family in 2018, Wu has been involved in the creative scene of the Roaring Fork Valley as concertmaster of Aspen Choral Society, the curator of Garden Music Series, and collaborator with Dance Initiative & DanceAspen, among many others. She stepped into the role of the Executive & Artistic Director of VOICES in the fall of 2022, dedicating her artistry and leadership in discovering the layers of humanities within us and our community through arts. On her bucket list are hiking Colorado Trail, dancing Tango, and making pottery. Her motto is “Life is too short for bad beer!”
Chieh-Fan Yiu
Founding Member / Viola
Triple-prized winner of the Lionel Tertis Competition, including Yuri Bashmet’s President of the Jury Prize, Taiwanese-Canadian violist Dr. Chieh-Fan Yiu is a multi-faceted musician with an extensive history of performances in various locations and platforms, from the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, to the 25,000-seater Saratoga Performing Arts Center with Nu Deco Ensemble, to the historical Octagon Barn in rural Iowa with Red Barn Chamber Music. In his 2023-2024 season, Dr. Yiu toured thirteen states with Frisson Ensemble and Los Angeles-based ensemble Delirium Musicum. He is also a regular artist with Málaga Clásica, a chamber music festival in Spain that has featured the likes of Pinchas Zukerman and Paul Neubauer. As a featured artist in the Las Vegas Music and Wine Festival, he performed alongside Philip Setzer of the Emerson Quartet as well as Arnold Choi, principal cellist of Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. As a violist of Ensemble For The Romantic Century, a unique Broadway production that combines fully staged plays with live chamber music, Dr. Yiu has starred in ‘The Dreyfus Affair’, 'Because I Could Not Stop: An Encounter With Emily Dickinson', and ‘Van Gogh’s Ear’, playing more than 70 performances to date.
Dr. Yiu is devoted to education, and has spent artist-residencies with Deka, Formosa, and Tesla Quartets, with performances, masterclasses/chamber coachings/private lessons, mentorships, as well as community outreach in places like Moores School of Music in University of Houston, the State University of New York (SUNY) Schenectady, Rockefeller Institute of Government, as well as students in underserved communities in the Empire State Youth Orchestra’s CHIME program. As a recipient of the coveted Jerome L. Greene Fellowship, Dr. Yiu completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, followed by Doctorate of Music degree from Stony Brook University, having been under the tutelage of mentors like Toby Appel, Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, Kim Kashkashian, as well as the Emerson Quartet.
Michael Graham
Founding Member / Cello
Michael Graham studied at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where he was a founding member of that institution’s first secret chamber music society, Skull and Bows. His instructors included Stephen Doane and members of the Amadeus, Cleveland, Tokyo, Emerson, and Kolisch string quartets. Mr. Graham has toured and recorded with artists from Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to John Densmore of the Doors. He has appeared on stage with Yo-Yo Ma, Joan Baez, John Williams, Rita Moreno, Isaac Hayes, and Weird Al Yankovich. His playing has been hailed by the San Francisco Classical Voice for its “almost painfully pretty…expressive richness”, and by the San Jose Mercury News as “super-good”. He has appeared and performed on national US television including ABC’s Regis and Kelley and NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He received a grant from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts to create a rural residency with the Chagall Quartet in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania. He performs frequently with the Oakland Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Midsummer Mozart Festival of San Francisco, and the funk chamber music collective Vitamin Em. Mr. Graham can be heard on Van Morrison’s album “Astral Weeks Live from Hollywood Bowl.”
Michael Graham has been performing as part of BenFeng Music Productions since 2013 and is proud to have been a part since its inaugural season. When he is not performing in Tainan or elsewhere, he can be found on the beach with his dog Pan, in the garden with his lovely wife Stephanie, or drinking whisky, smoking a cigar, and getting into trouble.
Chih-Long Hu
Founding Member / Piano
A native of Taiwan, pianist Chih-Long Hu’s performance career was launched after receiving honors including the Taipei National Concert Hall Arising Star, the Chi-Mei Artist Award, and prizes from the Mauro Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy, the Concurs International De Piano D'Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra, the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, and San Jose International Piano Competition in California. An active performer, Hu performs extensively in Asia, Europe, and America appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His recent performance highlights include concerto performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, solo and chamber recitals in China, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Hu’s performances have been broadcast in "Performance Today" through NPR stations across the country and televised in Taiwan, China and Japan. His CD albums "Formosa Caprices", “Complete Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux”, and “Trifecta Trio” have received critical acclaim. His latest album of Bach Goldberg Variations has been released under Blue Griffin Recording.
Named “Teacher of the Year” by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association, Dr. Hu is frequently invited to give lectures and master classes, as well as to judge international and national competitions. Hu is the Artistic Director of St. Andrews Piano Academy and Festival International (New Brunswick), as well as the New York International Piano Festival. Hu holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Michigan, a Master's degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, and a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from National Taiwan University. His piano teachers include Arthur Greene, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Tai-Cheng Chen. Dr. Hu is Sandra G. Powell Endowed Professor of Piano at The University of Tennessee.
