The Viano Quartet are one of the most sought-after performing young ensembles today and are currently in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Bowers Program from 2024-2027. Since winning First Prize at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition, they have traveled to nearly every major city across the globe, captivating audiences in New York, London, Berlin, Vancouver, Paris, Beijing, Lucerne, and Los Angeles. The quartet was named the inaugural June Goldsmith Quartet-in-Residence for the Music in the Morning series in Vancouver until 2025, where their focus will be to commission new works and lead extensive community engagement initiatives. The quartet has also held residencies at the Curtis Institute, Colburn Conservatory, Northern Michigan University, and Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. The Viano Quartet’s chief mentors include faculty of the Curtis Institute and Colburn Conservatory, as well as members of the Dover, Guarneri, and Tokyo string quartets. The quartet’s name was created to describe the four individual instruments playing together both harmony and melody, creating a unified instrument called the “Viano”.

Photo by Kevin Condon

As founding cellist of the critically acclaimed Afiara Quartet, Mr. Fung is a winner of the Concert Artist Guild International Competition, Young Canadian Musicians Award, 2nd prizes at Munich ARD and Banff International String Quartet Competitions, and the Szekely Prize for Best Interpretation of Beethoven. As a soloist, Mr. Fung has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall, and with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Kronos Quartet, and DJ Kid Koala. In addition, he served as a jury member for numerous competitions including the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Eckhardt-Gramatte National Competition. Mr. Fung received an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School and an MBA from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. He is the Executive & Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Music In The Morning and founder and CEO of the Creative Edge Group. He plays on a cello made in 1787 by Benjamin Banks, on lifetime loan to him from an anonymous donor.

Photo by Shevaun Williams