David Chan is taking a one-year leave of absence as the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera as he has been appointed as a Professor of Violin at the Rice Shepherd School of Music at Rice University starting in the fall of 2025.

According to a press release, the violinist will move to Houston this summer with his wife, the violinist Catherine Ro, and their children Annalise, Micah, and Arianna.

After 25 seasons as concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and as a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, he will will gradually phase out of his roles at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, where he has been Head of the Orchestral Performance program over the next two years.

In a statement, Chan said, “I’ve had the privilege of making music at the very highest level for the past 25 years in one of the world’s great orchestras. Now the time has come in my career to share everything I’ve learned with the young people who represent the future of our magnificent art. Joining the fantastic community of colleagues and students at Rice is the perfect opportunity to do that.”

Chan has appeared as a soloist with the Met Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Taiwan National Symphony, Aspen Chamber Symphony, and San Diego, Indianapolis, Richmond, Springfield, and Northbrook symphony orchestras. He also appears frequently as a guest artist at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest.

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