Ruotao Mao

Violinist Ruotao Mao, a native of Beijing, China, started learning the  

violin at the age of six under the guidance of his father and gave his

first public performance at the age of nine in Shanghai. Now an active

soloist and chamber musician, his playing was described by The Classical

New Jersey as "… virtuoso display of world-class magnitude." and "…the

level of playing has reached far beyond mere technical competence."

Mr. Mao came to Boston on a full scholarship offered by the New England

Conservatory of Music where he studied with Dorothy Delay, Paul Kantor,

and Masuko Ushioda. While in Boston, Mr. Mao won numerous prizes and

graduated with distinction in performance. He also attended prestigious

music festivals such as the New York String Seminar with Alexander

Schneider and the Tanglewood with Boston Symphony Orchestra where his

performance of Bartok’s String Quartet No. 1 received an honorary mention.

Mr. Mao started working with violinist Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri

String Quartet in 1989 at the Mason Gross School of the Arts where he

received the Master’s degree. While at Rutgers, Mr. Mao won many concerto

competitions and formed the highly praised Beijing Piano Quartet and

Amabile String Quartet.

As a concerto soloist, Mr. Mao has performed with the Jupiter Symphony,

the Riverside Symphonia, the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra,

Rutgers University Orchestra, Corelliard Chamber Orchestra among others.

During the last season he was featured as soloist with the Edison Symphony

and Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra. In year 2004, Mr. Mao

premiered a violin concerto by Ernest Stires in the Stern Auditorium of

Carnegie Hall.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Mao is one of the founding members of  the

Amabile String Quartet and the Beijing Piano Quartet. Both groups have

established extensive performance histories. His piano quartet has

appeared in Alice Tully Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium and Weill Recital

Hall of Carnegie Hall as a winner of Artists International Chamber Music

Series in 1994. His string quartet has performed with the Muir String

Quartet and has appeared in many concert series on the east coast and

heard on several radio stations nationwide. In years 2000 to 2002, the

Amabile String Quartet served as the quartet-in-residence at Rutgers

University. It was praised by The Classical New Jersey as "(Their)

performance was luminous, raised to that level by exceptional precision of

ensemble."

 Internationally, Mr. Mao has had performance tours in Korea and Colombia,

South America. He also has played on WNYC Radio Station, WETS public

radio serving Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina and WDVR-FM radio

station serving the Delaware Township and Lawrenceville, Princeton and

Trenton in New Jersey. As recording artist, Mr. Mao has recorded under

CRI and Beijing Broadcast CD labels.

 Mr. Mao currently serves as the concertmaster of the Bay-Atlantic

Symphony, Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Riverside Symphonia and

Edison Symphony Orchestra. In year 2002, Mr. Mao was appointed as violin

and viola faculty at The College of  New Jersey.