Chris Yick

Born and raised in Honolulu, Chris Yick is a dynamic musician and entrepreneur. Inspired by a love for chamber music and a desire to give back to his home state, Chris is the Founder of the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, an organization dedicated to featuring world-class artists with an emphasis on youth education.

As a student of the McDuffie Center, Chris has had the honor of performing in Carnegie Hall while being featured on NPR’s Performance Today. He can even be heard in the ensemble of Robert McDuffie and R.E.M. Mike Mills's newest album and collaboration: “Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra.”

From 2020-2022, he was the youngest member of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as Acting Section Bass. As an orchestral musician, he has performed as a substitute with the New West Symphony, Modesto Symphony Orchestra, and more. As a chamber musician, he has performed with musicians such as Stefan Jackiw, Robert McDuffie, Michael Nicolas, and more. He has performed at the Rome Chamber Music Festival, Festival Napa Valley, and Colorado College Summer Music Festival's faculty series.

In 2021, Chris was the youngest faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music's Summer Program. As an educator, he has taught privately and was a teaching artist for Midori & Friends. He has been invited as a guest lecturer for arts entrepreneurship at the University of Hawaii: Manoa. He is currently a teaching artist for Santa Barbara Strings. Since 2018, as the Founder of the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival, he has singlehandedly produced over 40 concerts and has featured over 40 artists. In 2021, he launched the festival's Young Artist Program, which is Hawaii's premier tuition-free chamber music institute for local students. For 2023, Chris has facilitated a ground-breaking partnership between the festival and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to HCMF, he has helped various arts organizations such as All Nippon Airways (ANA) Aha Mele (formerly ANA Honolulu Music Week), and the Hawaii International Music Festival as a performer and producer. Committed to giving back, Chris frequently performs for various Hawaii community organizations and nonprofits.

Chris began playing the double bass in middle school and began lessons with John Gallagher. He would continue his studies at The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, where he studied with Daniel Tosky and Jeffrey Turner. He is also a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where he furthered his studies with Jeremy McCoy. Chris plays on a bass made by Arnold Schnitzer (AES #36 2014).