Background
Fan was born in New York City to parents from Taiwan.
Fan was born in New York City to parents from Taiwan.
He began studying piano seriously at the Juilliard School and has received both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute.
As a concerto soloist, Fan has performed over 40 different concertos with orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Odessa Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and London Sinfonietta, with conductors such as David Zinman, Zubin Mehta, Alan Gilbert, and David Robertson. As a recitalist, Joel Fan has performed on numerous stages ranging from the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Jordan Hall in Boston, Calgary Celebrity Series, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, to the National Gallery of Art in Washington District of Columbia Internationally, Fan has performed recitals on four continents – most recently in tours of China, Cuba and South America. His other performances with the ensemble range from venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Concertgebouw to television appearances on Good Morning and David Letterman.
Other than winning the Philharmonic’s Young People's Concert Auditions, Fan has been awarded by several international competitions, notably the Doctorate’Anglo Young Artists International Competition and Busoni International Piano Competition. He has also been named a Presidential Scholar by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Seattle Post-Intelligencer has described him as "a superb musician, able to cross one style into another without any diminution in musical sophistication." The Los Angeles Times says he is a " soaring talent - Fan"s facility makes his playing a technical wonder." The Washington Post noted him as "a versatile and sensitive pianist – an impressive talent.".
Fan is a member of Yo-Yo Ma"s Silk Road Project with whom he performed at the British Broadcasting Corporation Proms for the first time in 2004 alongside Wu Tong, Wu Manitoba and the London Sinfonietta.
