I-Ling Chen, Pianist

I-Ling Chen, Annual Distinguished Young Artist of Taiwan in 1999, received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland in December 2002. As former staff/faculty member of Moores School of Music, University of Houston and Howard Community College in Columbia Maryland, Dr. Chen has always dedicated herself to both performing and teaching piano. Dr. Chen was born and raised in Taiwan. She first started playing the piano when she was five years old. As the winner of the Tai-Chung City Concerto Competition, I-Ling Chen was invited numerous times to play with the Tai-Chung City Symphony Orchestra between 1988 and 1990.

 

Through a national honors program, Dr. Chen was selected to attend the National Taipei University of the Arts, the most prestigious performing arts institution in Taiwan. She received many prizes and awards during her college years, including the First Prize Winner of the Taiwan National Piano Competition in 1992 and 1995. After receiving the Special Prize in Best Collaborative Pianist in the Kuan-Tu New Voice Competition, Dr. Chen wanted to expand her repertoire into operas and chamber music. Subsequently, she worked at the National Taipei Opera Workshop and had numerous performances at the National Theatre in Taipei.In 1995, I-Ling attended the music festival at Johanesen International School of Music in Vancouver, Canada.

 

During the music festival, she was the Winner of The Stars of Today and Tomorrow and was invited to play the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 for the festival's final concert. One year later, Dr. Chen received a scholarship from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts to study piano performance with Ms. Patricia Zander. I-Ling Chen had many concerts in Boston, including a recital with Lawrence Wolfe at Symphony Hall.

 

After completing her Master of Music degree in 1998, Dr. Chen became a staff pianist at both the New England Conservatory and the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts and continued to perform frequently in the Boston area. After relocating to Maryland for her doctoral study in 1999, Dr. Chen was invited on the music faculty of Howard Community College, where she taught piano and chamber music. She also served as the conductor of the Columbia Choir in Columbia, Maryland. She moved to Houston in 2009, and is one of the founders of Trio Oriens. As the pianist of Houston Independent School District's Honor Choir, Dr. Chen is also involved with school and community activities.