Korean violinist Heidi Han first picked up a violin at the age of 5. Born and raised in Korea, she continued her studies with JaeKwang Song while attending Yewon School of Arts. When Han was 13, her family moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada, and she continued her studies with Robert Davidovici. While in Canada, she served Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra as a concertmaster and won first prize of the Kiwanis Competition, Burnaby Clef Concerto Competition, and the Young Artists of British Columbia Competition.

Han received both her bachelors and graduate performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, earning the Peabody Merit Scholarship for both programs. During her time at Peabody, Han studied with Victor Danchenko and was the concertmaster for the Peabody Concert Orchestra. While pursuing her degrees, she won the first prize in the Marbury Competition and was awarded the Josef Kaspar Award. She was also invited to join the Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse in Israel to study with Shlomo Mintz.

Currently, Han plays with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a second violinist and lives in Detroit, Michigan where she enjoys making great music with her colleagues and husband, DSO violinist Will Haapaniemi.

Will Haapaniemi is a violinist born in Los Angeles with Finnish ancestry. He joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2014 alongside his wife and violinist Heidi Han. Haapaniemi wanted to be a violinist from the time he was 2 years old, when he saw Itzhak Perlman play on Sesame Street. Many other interests competed with practice time—some of his favorites being the martial art Capoeira, dance, and training for his glider pilot license.

Much is owed to Haapaniemi’s master violin teachers, Yoko Takebe and Michael Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic while Haapaniemi attended Manhattan School of Music. In high school, Haapaniemi was fortunate to study with Mark Kaplan, and fondly remembers lessons with Ruggiero Ricci in his home in Palm Springs. Also of great influence was Will’s cousin Paul Roby of the Philadelphia Orchestra; and his aunt Linda Grace, whose tireless support encouraged him to be the musician he is today. Plus, without the phenomenal support of Haapaniemi’s parents, none of this would have been possible.

Haapaniemi is active as a soloist and chamber musician, occasionally throwing viola into the mix. An avid outdoorsman, he hikes at every opportunity, and pays homage to his Finnish heritage by skiing during the winter.

Mike Chen received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University, studying violin with Blair Milton. In 1999 he began playing the viola and studied with Li-Kuo Chang. His other teachers included Michael Strauss, Peter Slowik, Keith Conant, and Baird Dodge.

Chen was a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 2012 to 2018, a member of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2012, and prior to that, a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 1992 to 1995. He has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony. In 2017, Chen joined the Cincinnati Symphony on its European Festivals Tour.

He received a master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern University in 1999, studying with Victor Yampolsky and Mariusz Smolij. His other conducting teachers include Gilbert Varga, David Zinman, and Murry Sidlin.

Chen was a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen, Colorado in 2008. He has also served as Assistant Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Guest Conductor of the Webster University Community Music School’s Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, and Guest Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Side-by-Side Orchestra.

David LeDoux comes to the orchestra from the Syracuse Symphony, where he served as Principal Cellist from 2006–2012.

LeDoux has appeared as a soloist with the Syracuse Symphony, the Skaneatelas Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Tulsa Philharmonic, the Oklahoma State University Symphony, the Louisiana Sinfonietta and the Mid-Texas Symphony.

LeDoux is an active and avid chamber musician, performing for many years with the Syracuse Society for New Music. As a committed private teacher, he spent last year as a cello instructor for Imagine Syracuse—a music program in an inner-city school that was modeled after the El Sistema program in Venezuela.

Previous professional engagements for LeDoux included serving as Principal Cellist with the Baton Rouge (LA) Symphony, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Symphony, and the Louisiana Sinfonietta.

LeDoux has studied with Ronald Leonard, Dennis Parker, and Kari Padgett Caldwell. Currently a resident of Madison Heights, LeDoux’s hobbies include reading, running, and movies.