A Tribute to Candice Chin (1976 – 2022)

ACMP Member Violinist Candice Chin

On June 25, 2022 Candice Chin, ACMP member violinist from Seattle, died suddenly, shortly after her 46th birthday. Candice is survived by her husband Matthew Briggs, her parents Peter and Esther, her brother Curtis, and her cousins aunts and uncles and the Seattle chamber music community.

I met Candice several years ago when she first joined the ACMP Board, when she and her husband Matthew attended our annual conference in New York City. I was quickly impressed on how smart and funny she was. We quickly bonded over our love food, travel as well as our relative closeness in age and culture.   At our annual post board play ins at a fellow former board member’s house, I was impressed by her high level of sight reading and passion to play well.  

During the early days of the pandemic when things were bad here in Queens, NYC she would take time from her busy schedule checked in on me and generously offered to mail food to me. We had only met each other twice in person before the pandemic set in.  That was the thoughtful and caring person she was.   I will never forget that heartfelt offer during those desperate dark times. 

We often daydreamed about all the wonderful foods we were missing and much of our exchanges is all about Asian dishes. We often exchanged foodie pics and recipes to break up long zoom meetings and while we salivated over each other’s posts.

She was committed to helping bring ACMP into the future and shared her experience, hard work, ideas and skills as an ACMP Board and Committee Member.  Her commitment and love of chamber music included many other organizations other than ACMP and the sudden loss of this vibrant, talented young advocate of chamber music is deeply felt. 

I wished I had the opportunity to spend more time and get to know her better in person. I am grateful for the time I had with Candice. She has surely made a mark in my heart.

– Celeste Chau, NAOC Acting Chair and Former ACMP Board Member

Below are a few other ACMP member tributes to Candice Chin

Peter Aupperle, Chair of ACMP Foundation:

Our major non-ACMP interaction was that when I first joined the Board, I referred her to my violin teacher in NYC. She had been unable to find a decent teacher in Seattle and it was COVID days, so everyone was doing lessons over Zoom. Hence it was easy to take lessons from Jesse Mills, who is an awesome teacher that Stephanie knows too. 

I recall her many texts to me reporting how productive her lessons were and how much she liked being Jesse’s student. When I saw Jesse at a concert, he thanked me profusely for referring such a talented adult student to him. She was working her way through several of the major violin concertos and even traveled to Southern California to meet Jesse in person and to see his trio, The Horszowski piano trio, perform on the west coast. She seemed to get so much joy and fulfillment from studying with him! 

Peter Aupperle  – ACMP Board Member,  ACMP Foundation,  NOAC.  Membership Engagement Committee Chair

Stephanie Griffin, Executive Director of ACMP:

I started my job as Executive Director of ACMP in August 2020, at the height of the pandemic. At that time Candice was still on the Board, and serving as Treasurer. Although I only met her on Zoom, we developed an excellent rapport. As someone with an MBA and an impressive background in finance, she had a lot of patience with someone (me) with no financial background at all. She was able to see through that and realize that we actually had the same perspective on budgets, and more importantly – a shared passion for cats, and the viola, which she was just beginning to explore. I am deeply saddened that Candice, with so much going on and so much to look forward to, was taken away from us so terribly soon and my deepest condolences go out to her husband, family and all of her close friends in Seattle.

Henri van den Hombergh, Chair of the ACMP International Ambassador’s Council:

For me, Candice represented a unique period in the board of ACMP to have someone young in the board and even more I do remember her very infectious grin and laugh.

If you would like to share a story or remembrance of Candice Chin, please email Stephanie at sgriffin@acmp.net. We will add your story to this article.

More Articles

An Interview with the Dalí Quartet: Winners of the 2023 Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award

ACMP awarded its 2023 Susan McIntosh Lloyd Award for Excellence and Diversity in Chamber Music to the Dalí Quartet, based in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Now in its twentieth year, the Dalí Quartet’s mission is to bring Latin American quartet repertoire to an equal standing alongside the Classical and Romantic canon. In addition to its performance activities, the group has a deep commitment to education. Many of its educational activities take place under the umbrella of ArcoNet, a nonprofit founded and directed by the quartet’s violist Adriana Linares in 2012.

Read More ↗

A special birthday gift: a newly commissioned chamber work!

Looking for the perfect birthday gift for a chamber music lover's milestone birthday? ACMP member flutist Trish Maxson had just the right idea: commissioning a brand-new piece of music by Jonathan Newmark for her friend Cindy Buhse's 60th birthday, for the unusual combination of flute and 2 violas. It's not easy to find a piece for that exact combination, and Trish wanted something she could play with Cindy and her daughter Emma who both play viola. The time was right for a "made to order" contemporary composition. Read all about it and download the score!

Read More ↗

NAOC Adventures in Vancouver, Canada

ACMP Executive Director Stephanie Griffin made new musical friends in her native British Columbia by connecting with NAOC councilors in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.

Read More ↗

An ACMP Love Story

Dr. Nancy Jiang (pianist/violinist from Australia) first played chamber music at the home of Toronto NAOC Councillor Carol Kirsh. Little did she know that chamber music sessions with Carol would lead her to meet the love of her life, Stefano Morra (ACMP violinist in Paris, France.) Read about their ACMP romance and wedding!

Read More ↗

The Queen of Paradise Orchestra Project of Papua New Guinea

In 1975, the year El Sistema was founded in Venezuela, a tiny new country was founded on the other side of the world: Papua New Guinea. One of the world’s least explored and most rural nations, PNG would seem to have little in common with the homeland of El Sistema. But in 2018, El Sistema came to Papua New Guinea.

Read More ↗

In memoriam: John Dexter, longtime coach and former violist of the Manhattan String Quartet

ACMP mourns the loss of John Dexter, who passed away on May 21, 2023. A long-time member of ACMP, he participated as a professional coach in the Home Coaching program and was deeply committed to helping chamber music players to improve their skills, develop musical insight, and expand their repertoire.

Read More ↗

ACMP 2023 Giving Report

ACMP Foundation has awarded a total of $193,875 USD to organizations and individuals in 14 countries its 2023 fiscal year to date, distributed over four grants programs: Chamber Music Workshop and Community Music, Play-In, Home Coaching and Just Play. 19% of ACMP's giving supported workshops, community programs and individual ACMP members outside the United States.

Read More ↗

Two CMA Events this Week to Celebrate National Chamber Month in NYC: May 17 and 18

National Chamber Music Month is an annual celebration and awareness campaign that brings attention to the creativity, resilience, and stylistic breadth of ensemble music performed today. This year, CMA is celebrating National Chamber Music Month with two events at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.

Read More ↗

New Video: The April 15 Kronos Quartet Master Class

ACMP's second online master class with the Kronos Quartet on its 50 for the Future repertoire was a huge success! Congratulations to all three quartets who played so beautifully, and you can now watch the entire class on ACMP's YouTube channel.

Read More ↗

Breakfast with Joshua Bell on May 9 in NYC: 15 Free Tickets for ACMP Members

New opportunity for ACMP members in or near New York City: After Arts has offered 15 free tickets to a breakfast talk with violinist Joshua Bell for members of ACMP.

Read More ↗

2023 Worldwide Play-In Weekend: May 19-21

The ACMP Worldwide Play-In Weekend is less than a month away: Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21. There are seven ACMP-supported Play-Ins that weekend so far, and keep checking this article and the Events and Workshops Directory for more!

Read More ↗

Puccini and Piazzolla in the Pizzeria

Illinois-area ACMP member Tom Cappaert recently received a "Just Play" grant from ACMP for an informal concert at a pizzeria in Quito, Ecuador in March.

Read More ↗

Kronos Quartet Master Class Live-Stream and Repertoire

Watch the live-stream of ACMP's second online master class with the Kronos Quartet on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 2pm to 5pm Eastern on YouTube, and discover new and exciting repertoire by West African composers Angélique Kidjo and Fodé Lassana Diabaté, and Chinese composer Wu Man.

Read More ↗

Travels and Adventures with ACMP Pianist Nicholas King

New York City pianist Nicholas King just made a trip to Tokyo, Japan - connecting with local players through the ACMP Directory and with the help of ACMP's Japanese ambassador Sayoko Yamashita. Read ACMP's recent interview with Nick after his return from Japan.

Read More ↗

How to Hold a Play-In

Watch the video of ACMP's online workshop "How to Hold a Play-In" with panelists Peter Aupperle, Susan Alexander, Michael Knoch, Virginia Feldman, Phyllis Kaiden and Bob Myers. Get some expert tips on holding a Play-In and organize one yourself for ACMP's 2023 Worldwide Play-In Weekend, May 19 - 21.

Read More ↗

Creating a Culture of Listening: Exploring Conscious Listening Workshops with Steinway Artist Hsing-ay Hsu

Join pianist and ACMP Holiday Caption Contest winner Hsing-ay Hsu for her unique online "Conscious Listening Café", and read about her approach to deepening your listening experience.

Read More ↗

Kronos Quartet Second Master Class: Saturday, April 15

Join ACMP and the Kronos Quartet on Saturday, April 15 at 2pm Eastern for our second online master class on newly commissioned works from the Kronos "50 for the Future" library.

Read More ↗

List your Summer or Fall Workshop in the CMA Directory of Festivals, Schools and Workshops

Once again, members of the ACMP community (individuals, coaches, event managers and organizations) are invited to submit listings for inclusion in Chamber Music America's printed Directory of Festivals, Schools, and Workshops.

Read More ↗

ACMP at the CMA National Conference

ACMP was delighted to present a session at Chamber Music America’s 45th National Conference at the Westin New York at Times Square (New York City) on January 7, 2023. Moderated by ACMP Grants Committee Chair Susan Alexander, the panel included two amateur chamber musicians with widely different experiences: Paris Brann Milane of the Bronx and Karl Irikura from the Washington DC metropolitan area; and one professional musician who had dedicated his career to working with amateur musicians, Lenny Matczynski, a life-long coach and former Executive Director of The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire. Watch the video!

Read More ↗

GO FOR BAROQUE……an early music workshop in NYC

This March, longtime friends and colleagues Dale Stuckenbruck and Lisa Terry offer a workshop in Manhattan for experienced amateur string players, recorder players and viol players, where all will get a chance to explore Baroque music focusing on Baroque style, meter and emphasis. Inspired by their friend, violinist Janet Hoffman, Dale and Lisa have done a number of workshops and presentations in recent years and are excited to be working together again.

Read More ↗

Load More

 

All Articles By