Cornelius Chiu joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1996. Born to Chinese parents in Ithaca, New York, he began violin lessons at the age of six. His older brother, Frederic, is a successful concert pianist and Yamaha recording artist with whom Cornelius collaborates on a regular basis.
A Starling Foundation full-scholarship recipient, Cornelius received bachelor’s and master’s degrees with high distinction; a performer’s certificate; and a coveted fellowship from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where his primary teachers were Josef Gingold, Franco Gulli, Nelli Shkolnikova and Yuval Yaron. He also studied chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky of the Borodin Quartet and baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. The many acclaimed artists with whom Cornelius has worked include Joseph Silverstein, Miriam Fried, János Starker and Menahem Pressler. He received special recognition from Isaac Stern after a performance in his honor.
A winner in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the National Arts and Letters Competition, Cornelius has performed as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Chamber Orchestra and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Recent solo performances include appearances with the Sinfonietta DuPage orchestra and the Drake University Symphony Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, he frequently appears with his colleagues on the CSO Chamber Music series at Northwestern University, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and Roosevelt University. He has performed at the Sarasota and Aspen music festivals, the Rencontres Musicales Festival, Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute for Young Artists and with the Ensemble Villa Musica in France and Germany.
A dedicated teacher, Cornelius Chiu has maintained a private studio for more than thirty-five years. A former faculty member at Wheaton College, he currently teaches at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Cornelius and his wife Inah, a pianist on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, have performed together as the Corinah Duo on many Chicago concert series. He is especially proud of his three musician children: Krystian (Indiana University/Rice University), Karisa (the Curtis Institute of Music and substitute violinist at the CSO) and Cameron (Carnegie Mellon University).
