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, 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 Geidai Strings 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 conductor-less 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 in improvisation demonstration and performance with sitar player Partha Bose, tabla player Indranil Mallick, and Carnatic violinist Aishu Venkataraman in an experimental improvisation demonstration, sponsored by the Indo-American Association in Houston.
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 collaboration 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.