Former Subway Violinist from Bayside to Play Lincoln Center

A former Bayside resident who landed gigs last summer with the Manhattan Symphonie and a spot in a music video will play his first performance at Lincoln Center this fall.

Yut Chia, 20, who attended Bayside High School, will perform at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with the World Peace Orchestra at 8 p.m. on Sept. 10. Tickets are currently available on the venue’s website.

“When I was in middle school, I played with a borough wide orchestra at Carnegie Hall, but now I’m playing with a big orchestra at Lincoln Center,” he said. “I’m very excited. It’s like a dream come true. Most people don’t get the chance to play at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, especially at my age. It’s an amazing feeling.”

The violin player, who was born in Colombia, also recently formed a modern string quintet band and is in the process of recording an album.

The group plays instrumental versions of pop songs, such as Fun’s “We Are Young” and the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These).”

“Once we have eight songs, we’ll put them on a CD,” he said. “I take the melody line and others take the bass. It’s pretty cool.”

Last summer, Chia played with the 50-piece Manhattan Symphonie at Gramercy Park’s The Players.

Chia, who grew up in Bayside but now lives in College Point, spent much of last summer playing the city’s subway stations, including Times Square, Union Square and Lexington/59th Street.

During one of his underground gigs, he performed with Jamaica’s Damien Escobar, formerly of Nuttin’ But Stringz. The duo ended up recording a music video together.

This fall, Chia will begin attending Queens College, where he will study music. He is paying for his education with the money he earned playing in the subway and various concerts across the five boroughs.

During his first year in college, he will study music and pre-med, but he hopes to transfer to the school’s performance program in his sophomore year.

“I’ve been practicing five hours a day to get my technique down perfectly,” he said.

Check out Yut Chia’s performance on YouTube with Nuttin’ But Stringz and his band’s Facebook page.