Award-winning pianist Dr. XIAO CHEN is actively engaged as both a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., China, and Europe, having performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Fischer Center for Performing Arts, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Her performances have been well received by many; Her performances have been praised internationally; New York Concert Review praised her, stating that “she has a strong interest in communicating, and that urge is apparent in performances of expressiveness and purposefulness,” while Shanghai Youth Daily said, “her energetic and breathtaking performance impressed the audience.” Her concerts have been frequently broadcast live on radio stations, including Classical KUSC FM 91.5 and Classical KING FM 98.1. She has regularly appeared as a soloist with orchestras and performed solo recitals in major concert series.
Dr. Chen served as a Lecturer in Piano Performance at UCLA and has taught at Mount Saint Mary’s University. She is currently Music Director of the Irvine Conservatory of Music and Founder and Artistic Director of the Irvine Conservatory International Music Competition. A dedicated pedagogue, Dr. Chen founded and directed the Los Angeles Young Virtuoso International Music Festival, with the objective of providing performance and educational opportunities for students from all over the world.
Dr. Chen is a prizewinner of numerous competitions, including The American Prize, Frances Walton Competition, Carmel Music Society Piano Competition, The Muse International Competition, and Steinway & Sons International Youth Piano Competition. Furthermore, Dr. Chen has served as a jury member for many piano competitions, including the New West Symphony Piano Competition in Los Angeles, “Pearl River Keyserburg” International Piano Competition, MAP International Music Competition, and Hainan Airline Piano Competition. As a recording artist, Dr. Chen has recorded for Yamaha’s Disklavier Educational Network and the Scott Joplin Piano Works Archive.
Dr. Chen has been invited to perform in a number of music festivals, including the Morningside Bridge Summer Festival, Yellow Barn Music Festival, Pianofest Summer Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, and Italy Perugia Music Fest. Over the years, she has worked with esteemed pianists and artists such as Gary Graffman, Seymour Lipkin, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Richard Goode, Peter Frankl, Claude Frank, Wu Han, Ann Schein, Paul Schenly, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Joseph Lin, and the Shanghai Quartet.
As a music educator and advocator, Dr. Chen has also been invited to present lectures and concerts as a recurring guest professor at universities. Her articles about music and teaching have been published in music magazines such as California Music Teachers and Music Lover (China). She has collaborated with Bard Conservatory US-China Music Institute and created a new piano course for young students in China. Her role as an educator also extends to online courses. She has published many online courses for piano performance practice which are distributed on major Chinese educational platforms. Many of Dr. Chen’s students have received prizes in international competitions and have been accepted into leading music schools and university music departments, including UCLA, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine.
Dr. Chen attended Bard College as a double major, receiving her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Language and Literature from Bard College. She furthered her studies at The Juilliard School, obtaining her Master of Music degree. Most recently, she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from UCLA.
Dr. Chen’s solo piano album Kaleidoscope is available on major platforms, including Naxos, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify.