Biography
Born to a musical family, Chinese-Canadian violinist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou rose to fame on the international concert scene when she unanimously won three prestigious international violin competitions in France, Italy, and Spain (Long-Thibaud, Lipizer, Sarasate) representing both Canada and China.
Since then, Susanne Hou has performed as soloist with major orchestras in over 50 countries including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, SWR Stuttgart, WDR Cologne as well as Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic and NHK. She has collaborated with such renowned musicians as Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman, Alan Gilbert, Andreas Delfs, Marek Janowski, Alexander Shelley and Krzysztof Urbański among others.
In 2013, Susanne Hou recorded the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra playing an outstanding 1735 ex-Fritz Kreisler Mary Portman Guarneri Del Gesu Violin as a tribute to its unique history. In 2016, she performed and recorded the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor John Nelson at Cadogan Hall, a work she successfully toured with in Canada, China and Taiwan.
Her recent and future engagements include German tour with Sinfonietta Cracovia, a return to Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, an extensive recital and concert tour to South Africa working with Cape, Johannesburg and Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestras as well as a recital at Flaneries Musicales de Reims and a return to the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022.
Susanne Hou is a passionate advocate for music education. She consistently engages in creative projects involving early classical music coaching as well as mentoring aspiring young artists. Launched in 2017, her education initiative called “3-degrees” began in Brazil where Susanne Hou worked with inspired musical students from underprivileged background. Subsequently she partnered with DakApp bringing young artists from The Juilliard School in New York, Royal College of Music in London, Beijing Central Conservatory, and the Paris Conservatoire to London for the filming of masterclass with orchestra which is now available online via DakApp to students all over the world.