My solo violin album was released in late September 2021. It includes Bach Chaconne from Partita No. 2, Vitali Chaconne, and Waters Moonlight Beach Chaconne.

My husband Abe heard Joe Waters’ Moonlight Beach Chaconne while working late and suggested I listen to it. I knew about Swarmius, Joe’s creative ensemble led by his alter ego, Jozefius, and wanted to understand what his solo violin work was like. I liked the piece right away when I listened – it’s powerful, unique sounding, and has a great violin part with beautiful soaring melodies and challenging rhythmic sections. I perform annually with the San Diego State University Chamber Orchestra at one of my favorite local venues Bread and Salt, which used to be a bread factory in Barrio Logan. We decided to perform Waters’ Chaconne for a live audience there with the SDSU Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Choir, marimba, and live electronics in September 2019. It was a singular experience for me to perform with orchestra, singers, percussionist, and electronics (played by a human being of course) all at once. It was a lot of fun.
 
Soon after the performance, Joe and I decided to record his Moonlight Beach Chaconne. I spent many mornings and afternoons during the 2019 holiday season making the recording of Moonlight Beach Chaconne along with the other two pieces, the Bach and Vitali Chaconnes, which I had presented earlier in a solo recital in the fall at the Athenaeum in La Jolla and Lyceum Theater in downtown San Diego. We worked hard at Joe’s homemade recording studio: small but comfortable, surrounded by a tropical garden, perched above a creek on Mount Helix. It was like a retreat for me every time I was there working. We were able to work without a hard deadline, which made for a truly pleasant recording experience.
 
The Chaconne by Vitali is a piece that I have studied since I was a child in Taiwan. To be able to relearn and perform it years later was a satisfying experience. Bach’s Chaconne is a piece that you can play and explore throughout your entire musical life, with each and every reading a new exploration of interpreting the arpeggios and structure.
 
Then came the time-consuming editing process, which was a real test of patience, especially for Joe. I am truly grateful for his seemingly limitless ability to work with me, all the while respectfully interpreting and incorporating my decidedly nontechnical opinions. We finished editing just prior to the album release in September. During the pandemic, Joe has been making music videos to accompany some of his other works. We made one for his Chaconne as well. We both learned about green screen filmmaking and editing, and the result is more of a short film than a music video. It is full of fantastical physical locations, bold colors, oceanic wildlife, and closeup material from his own gardens. Being in a music film was something that I had never considered doing, and I really appreciate that Joe’s vision for this short film is to make classical music more relevant to the general public, especially younger generations. 
 
The cover art of the album is a commissioned piece by Santa Barbara artist Erika Carter. The superb graphic design is by John Petreikis who has helped me with design for The Campanile Music Festival, which I founded and curate at SDSU. My portrait is by Gary Payne, a well- known local photographer with an amazing international portfolio. I was also privileged to work with many wonderful musicians, such as pianist John Wilson, choral conductor Arian Khaefi, and vocal artist and pianist Sonya Schumann. This album made it possible for me to appreciate a collaborative experience of making art. Chaconnes is an album that came together in a natural and genuine way.

Pei-Chun Tsai
 
To hear-
https://music.apple.com/us/album/chaconnes/1580652634
 
To view:
https://youtu.be/Uqi3Nj6VrxY