Gateway logo

The Accorda Trio: Chen-Yu Huang (Harp), Fangye Sun (Violin), and Daniel Tressel (Cello)

Concert details

Program

Sonata RV.83 by Antonio Vivaldi
I. Allegro
II. Largo 
III. Allegro

Nocturne by Mikhail Glinka

Trio for violin, cello and harp by Henriette Renie 
I. Allegro

Song of the Black Swan by Heitor Villa-Lobos

Trio by Jacques Ibert
I. Allegro tranquillo
II. Andante sostenuto
III. Scherzando con moto

Performers

The Accorda Trio was founded in 2018 by cellist Daniel Tressel, violinist Fangye Sun, and harpist Chen-Yu Huang. This unique combination sought to bring some of the most unknown gems in music history to the global audience, and explore this lush and colorful instrumentation. Since its inauguration, the Accorda Trio has performed repertoire that ranges from classical Haydn to the French giant, Ibert, and 21st-century composers such as Ricardo Lorenz. Their upcoming debut album will be released in 2024.

Daniel Tressel

Cellist and composer Daniel Tressel divides his time among composing, performing, and teaching. After receiving a master’s and bachelor’s degree in cello performance from the University of Nevada and the University of Illinois, respectively, Tressel went on to receive his doctor of musical arts degree in music composition from MSU where he studied under Dr. Ricardo Lorenz.

As a cellist, Tressel has performed as a soloist with the Livingston Symphony, University of Nevada Symphony and Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra. On numerous occasions he has been invited to present recitals and masterclasses in China at universities such as Xi’an Conservatory of Music, Shandong University, Capital Normal University, Guangxi Normal University and Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. He is a founding member of Duo Piacevole and the Armonia String Quartet, and has performed as an orchestral musician with the Reno Philharmonic, Lansing Symphony, Jackson Symphony, and West Michigan Symphony, among others.

As a composer, Tressel has received commissions from the Verdehr Trio, Livingston Symphony, Jackson Symphony, Jackson Youth Symphony, and Mason Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, he was named the national winner of the Merle J. Isaac Composition Competition for his orchestral work Sunday Stroll.

Tressel currently is the cello faculty at Albion College and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra Community Music School. He previously was on music theory and composition faculty at Spring Arbor University.

Fangye Sun

An avid performing artist and prizewinner, China-born violinist Fangye Sun has concertized throughout Asia and North America, appearing as a soloist with numerous orchestras, and performed in prestigious concert venues, such as Suntory Hall, Victory Symphony Hall, Benaroya Hall, and Hong Kong Cultural Center. The renowned musicians with whom she has collaborated include Ralph Votapek, Carl Topilow, Stephan Picard, Yuri Gandelsman, Suren Bargatuni, Anthony Elliott, and musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic as well as Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

An alumna of the Asian Youth Orchestra, Pacific Music Festival, and National Repertory Orchestra, Sun was featured in Pine Mountain Music Festival, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Leelanau Music Festival, and has served as concertmaster for several Michigan symphony orchestras in addition to performing with the Grand Rapids Symphony.

Sun is an assistant professor of violin at Central Michigan University. Prior to moving to the United States, she held a professorship at Xi’an Conservatory of Music where she was the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award. During the summers, she teaches at Bay View Music Festival and holds residencies at universities and conservatories in China. A dedicated pedagogue, she recently presented at International ClarinetFest and the College of Music Society National Conference. Her students have been named prize-winners at international music competitions, made solo appearances with orchestras, performed in Carnegie Hall, and won full-scholarships to attend prestigious music festivals. Alumni of her studio can be found in major orchestras in China as well as in collegiate music programs in the U.S., Germany, and Singapore. Her interest in multicultural musical elements in new music has led to her CD recording project featuring both traditional and newly commissioned works by Chinese composers which was released in 2018.

Her early violin training started at an early age with her father. After winning the gold medal at the “Gao Hua” Chinese Youth Violin Competition at the age of 11, she has won the Best Performance Prize at the 7th Chinese National Youth Violin Competition, the Bronze Medal at the 3rd Chinese National “Golden Bell Award” Violin Competition, and Second Prize at the Marquette Symphony Young Artist Competition. Additionally, she was named winner of the MSU Honors Concert Concerto Competition.

Sun holds a doctor of musical arts degree and a master of music degree in violin performance from MSU and a bachelor of music degree from Xi’an Conservatory of Music. Her mentors include well-known violin pedagogues Walter Verdehr and Yaoji Lin. During her studies, she had further opportunities to work with the Julliard String Quartet, David Kim, Paul Roczek, Alice Schoenfeld, Charles Dutoit, and Valery Gergiev. Her live performances and media appearances have been broadcasted on Blue Lake Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, WCMU, WKAR, WDIY, WLNS, and Hanzhong TV Station.

Chen-Yu Huang

Praised as “untimid and determined with a brilliancy of effervescence” in her album review by ConcertoNet, Chen-Yu Huang has established herself in the harp scene in the Midwest. Huang joined the MSU College of Music in 2014. She also serves as the principal harpist for the Ann Arbor Symphony and Jackson Symphony Orchestra.

Huang is the winner of the 2010 Krannert Debut Artist Award and a recipient of the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship in 2010-2011, and is the first harpist ever to be awarded both prizes. She has given masterclasses at the University of Illinois, Arizona State University, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, among a few. She has also served as an adjudicator in several competitions such as Camac Prize in Taiwan and the American Harp Society national competition.

As an enthusiastic teacher, Huang founded Capitol Harp Ensemble in 2022, a non-profit organization that provides after-school programs for youths as well as adult enrichment classes. Her pedagogical compositions are published by HappyString Music. Her first album with Formosa Trio – The First Impression – includes several of her arrangements and “invites us not just for a ride, but on an adventure, requiring all senses” according to the Harp Column.