Winnie Huang

Winnie Huang, this year’s “artiste étoile” at Lucerne Festival, was born in China, raised in Australia, and is now primarily active in Europe — as a violinist, gestural performer, composer, and artistic researcher. She is co-director and violinist of the Paris-based contemporary music ensemble soundinitiative. Huang’s experience as a participant in the Lucerne Festival Academy was formative. She currently maintains a close association with Lucerne Festival as a Contemporary Leader, serving as a curator for the Forward Festival and as a violin coach each summer. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Trustees for Eavesdropping London and on the advisory board for the journal FORUM+. Central to Huang’s artistic vision is her ongoing collaboration with both emerging and established composers, including Liza Lim, Jessie Marino, Richard Barrett, Kristine Tjøgersen, Charlie Sdraulig, Bernhard Lang, Sivan Cohen Elias, Michael Beil, and Clara Iannotta. She regularly performs with ensembles such as Nadar Ensemble, lovemusic, Ensemble Linea, and Down the Rabbit Hole and appears at leading festivals including Ars Musica in Brussels, Donaueschinger Musiktage, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, MaerzMusik in Berlin, ManiFeste in Paris, the Ruhrtriennale, and Warsaw Autumn. Career highlights have included solo performances at the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Lucerne Festival. Huang has a particular passion for musical-gestural projects, which she develops either independently or in close collaboration with composers. Following several years as an assistant professor of artistic research at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Huang — who has taught as a guest lecturer at numerous international institutions — was appointed Associate Professor for Research in Music Performance at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana in Lugano in 2025.

Winnie Huang made her Lucerne Festival debut as a gestural performer on 2 September 2018 with Stockhausen’s Inori; this summer, she is being featured in a variety of performances as “artiste étoile.”

June 2025