Biography

Violinist Mann-Wen Lo performs extensively throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician. Featured on radio and TV broadcasts in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and France, Mann-Wen has gained recognition at numerous competitions and awards, including the Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs Scholarship, First Prize at the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, Oneppo Chamber Music Competition, Beverly Hills National Audition, and USC Solo Bach Competition. Mann-Wen has been a recurring artist at some of the most prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Walt Disney Hall and Taiwan National Concert Hall. Her recording with the Mana Music Quartet, featuring the music of Queen Liliʻuokalani, was awarded Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2021  Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award.

Mann-Wen has performed as a soloist with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Taiwan Strings, Tokyo University of the Arts Ensemble, and American Contemporary Ballet in Los Angeles. She has served as guest concertmaster at the Pasadena Opera, American Contemporary Ballet, and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and as guest assistant concertmaster at the Dallas Chamber Symphony. As a core member and principal violinist, Mann-Wen performs regularly with Delirium Musicum, a boundary-pushing conductorless chamber ensemble. She has been a featured recording artist under labels such as Warner Classics, Navona Records, and CMH Label Groups.

Chamber music is at the heart of Mann-Wen’s musical passion. She has collaborated with members of world-renowned string quartets such as the Juilliard String Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet, Quatuor Ysaÿe, and the Takács Quartet, among others. In addition, she has performed with artists such as Glenn Dicterow, Peter Frankl, Roger Tapping, David Shifrin, Margaret Batjer, and Andrew Shulman. Mann-Wen has been invited as a guest artist to concert series such as Camera Lucida in San Diego, Sunset ChamberFest, Le Salon de Musiques, Castleton Chamber Players, New Asia Chamber Music Society, and the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles. Her festival appearances include Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Saito Kinen Festival (now Seiji Ozawa Festival), ANA Music Week, Hawaii International Music Festival, Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, and Rencontres Franco Américaines de Musique Chambre in Missillac, France.

Mann-Wen's exploration beyond the Western classical genre has led to collaborations with Grammy award-winning artists such as Béla Fleck (banjo), Jake Shimabukuro (ukulele), Kalani Pea (singer), and JP Jofre (bandoneon/composer). She is a recording artist with the Vitamin String Quartet, known for its popular renditions of rock and pop music. As a curious artist, Mann-Wen is fond of multidisciplinary collaborations and the realm of improvisation. She has been commissioned by the Pompano Beach Cultural Center to create an original composition in a performance of music and live painting, with improvisatory elements in the middle movement. She has also collaborated with sitar player Partha Bose, tabla player Indranil Mallick, and Carnatic violinist Aishu Venkataraman in an experimental improvisation demonstration.

A graduate of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, Mann-Wen completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with an Outstanding Achievement Award under the guidance of Glenn Dicterow. She has earned her academic minor in Music Teaching and Learning, as well as elective fields in instrumental conducting with Larry Livingston and Jazz Studies with David Arnay. Mann-Wen also holds degrees from Yale School of Music (MM), studying with Syoko Aki and the New England Conservatory (BM), mentored by Masuko Ushioda. She has worked closely and greatly influenced by Ralph Kirshbaum, Roger Tapping, Daniel Phillips, Donald Weilerstein, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. 

To inspire and encourage everyone to lead a creative life through performances and teaching is Mann-Wen’s personal mission. She currently serves as a violin professor at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. She is a recurring faculty member at summer festivals including Deutsch-Polnische Festival für junge Musiker in Bremen, Montecito International Music Festival, and Texas Music Festival. She has given masterclasses and taught as a faculty guest artist at East Tennessee State University, Punahou School, and Iolani School. In collboration with the Liliʻuokalani Trust and Mana Music Hawaii, Mann-Wen was a teaching artist and co-launched a music program mentoring young Hawaiian children and youths. Mann-Wen has served as a jury member for the International Music Competition Opus 2022, the 2023 Houston Virtuosi Concerto Competition, the 2023 Young Musicians Festival Competition at the Asian American Cultural Center in Austin, and the HTMA Ensemble Contest.

Aside from music, Mann-Wen enjoys running, hiking, learning to play Go, and experimenting with cameras in her spare time.

中文簡介

小提琴家羅曼文（Mann-Wen Lo）作為獨奏家和室內樂音樂家在世界各地廣泛演出。她曾在美國、台灣、日本和法國的電台和電視節目中亮相，並在眾多比賽和獎項中獲得認可，包括台灣文化事務委員會獎學金、國際室內樂合奏比賽第一名、Oneppo室內樂比賽、比佛利山全國選拔賽以及南加州大學巴赫獨奏比賽。羅曼文多次在著名舞台演出，其中包括卡內基音樂廳、喬丹音樂廳、艾麗絲·塔利音樂廳、沃特·迪士尼音樂廳和台灣國家音樂廳。她與Mana Music Quartet錄製的專輯，收錄了莉莉烏奧卡拉尼女王的音樂，並在2021年的Nā Hōkū Hanohano獎中獲得年度器樂專輯獎。

羅曼文曾與台北市立交響樂團、台灣絃樂團、東京藝術大學合奏團和洛杉磯的美國當代芭蕾舞團合作擔任獨奏家。她曾在帕薩迪納歌劇院、美國當代芭蕾舞團和萬花筒室內樂團擔任客席首席，並在達拉斯室內交響樂團擔任客席助理首席。作為核心成員和首席小提琴家，羅曼文定期與無指揮的前衛室內樂團Delirium Musicum合作演出。她曾在華納古典 (Warner Classics)、Navona Records和CMH Label Groups等唱片公司錄製專輯。

室內樂是羅曼文音樂熱情的核心。她曾與世界知名弦樂四重奏的成員合作，如茱莉亞弦樂四重奏、克里夫蘭四重奏、伊薩伊四重奏和塔卡奇四重奏等。此外，她還與格倫·迪克特羅（Glenn Dicterow）、彼得·弗蘭克爾（Peter Frankl）、羅傑·塔平（Roger Tapping）、大衛·希夫林（David Shifrin）、瑪格麗特·巴特杰（Margaret Batjer）和安德魯·舒爾曼（Andrew Shulman）等藝術家合作演出。羅曾受邀參加聖地亞哥的Camera Lucida音樂會系列、Sunset MusicFest、Le Salon de Musiques、Castleton Chamber Players、New Asia Chamber Music Society和洛杉磯的Da Camera Society等音樂會系列。她參加的音樂節包括Yellow Barn室內樂音樂節、Menuhin Festival Gstaad、Norfolk室內樂音樂節、Saito Kinen Festival（現為小澤征爾音樂節）、ANA Music Week、夏威夷國際音樂節、夏威夷室內樂音樂節以及法國Missillac的Rencontres Franco Américaines de Musique Chambre。

羅曼文在西方古典音樂以外的探索促成了與多位格萊美獎得主的合作，如班卓琴家貝拉·弗萊克（Béla Fleck）、烏克麗麗演奏家島袋宏（Jake Shimabukuro）、歌手卡拉尼·佩阿（Kalani Pea）和手風琴演奏家及作曲家JP Jofre。她是Vitamin String Quartet的錄音藝術家，以翻唱搖滾和流行音樂聞名。作為一位充滿好奇心的藝術家，羅曼文熱衷於多學科的合作和即興演奏領域。她曾受Pompano Beach文化中心委託創作原創作品，並在音樂和現場繪畫的表演中融入即興元素。她還與錫塔琴演奏家Partha Bose、塔布拉鼓演奏家Indranil Mallick和南印度卡納提克小提琴家Aishu Venkataraman合作進行實驗性的即興演示。

羅曼文畢業於南加州大學Thornton音樂學院，並以優異成績獎 (Outstanding Achievement Award)獲得音樂藝術博士學位，師從前紐約愛樂知名首席格倫·迪克特羅（Glenn Dicterow）。她還獲得了音樂教學與學習的學術輔修，並選修了拉里·利文斯頓（Larry Livingston）指揮和大衛·阿奈（David Arnay）爵士研究。羅曼文還擁有耶魯音樂學院碩士學位和新英格蘭音樂學院學士學位，分別師從秋山晃子（Syoko Aki）和潮田益子（Masuko Ushioda）。就學期間她與著名大提琴家拉爾夫·基爾什鮑姆（Ralph Kirshbaum）、中提琴家羅傑·塔平（Roger Tapping）、小提琴家丹尼爾·菲利普斯（Daniel Phillips）、小提琴家唐納德·韋勒斯坦（Donald Weilerstein）以及東京弦樂四重奏成員有密切合作並深受影響。

羅曼文的個人使命是通過演出和教學啟發並鼓勵每個人過上創意生活。她目前是休斯頓大學Moores音樂學院的小提琴教授。她經常在包括德國波蘭青年音樂家節 (Deutsch-Polnische Festival für junge Musiker in Bremen）、Montecito國際音樂節和德州音樂節 (Texas Music Festival) 在內的夏季音樂節中擔任教職。她曾在東田納西州立大學、普納荷學校和伊奧拉尼學校擔任客座教授並舉辦大師班。與莉莉烏奧卡拉尼基金會和Mana Music Hawaii合作，羅曼文是教學藝術家，並共同推出了一個指導夏威夷兒童和青少年的音樂項目。羅曼文曾擔任2022年國際音樂比賽Opus、2023年休斯頓Virtuosi協奏曲比賽、2023年奧斯汀亞裔美國文化中心的青年音樂家節比賽以及HTMA合奏比賽的評委。

除了音樂，羅曼文在空閒時間喜歡跑步、爬山、學習圍棋以及研究攝影。