Chen Yi

As the recipient of the prestigious Charles Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2001-2004), Chen Yi has been the Lorena Searcey Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor in Composition at the Conservatory of the University of Missouri-Kansas City since 1998. Chen has served on the composition faculty of Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (96-98) and has been Composer-in-Residence with the Women's Philharmonic, Chanticleer, and Aptos Creative Arts Center in San Francisco (93-96), supported by Meet The Composer's New Residencies Program.

Born on April 4, 1953, in Guangzhou, China, into a family of doctors with a strong interest in classical music, Chen Yi started studying violin and piano when she was only three, with Zheng Rihua and Li Suxin, and music theory with Zheng Zhong. Ms. Chen has received music degrees from the Beijing Central Conservatory (BA & MA) and Columbia University in the City of New York (DMA). Major composition teachers have included Professors Chou Wen-chung, Mario Davidovsky, Wu Zu-qiang and Alexander Goehr.

Chen Yi is the first woman to receive a master degree in composition in China in June 1986 when she gave the whole evening concert of her orchestral works in Beijing. She is also the first woman to give a whole evening multimedia orchestral concert (for orchestra, choir, Chinese traditional instrumental soloists, dance, image projection -- Chinese Myths Cantata) in the US in May 1996 with three sold out concerts in San Francisco, CA. She has been invited back to China to give another whole evening concert of her orchestral and choral works presented by the China National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beijing in 2001. Her composition is a hybrid of East (Chinese flavour, style and spirit) and West (structure, shape and physical orchestration). Being performed from Beijing, Hong Kong to New York and San Francisco, from London, Vienna to Tokyo and Singapore, from Munich, Stuttgart, Dresden to Auckland, Tashkent and Sao Paulo, her music has reached wide range of audiences and tremendously inspired people with different cultural background throughout the world.

Fellowships have been received from Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and American Academy of Arts and Letters (Lieberson Award). Honors include the first prize from the Chinese National Composition Competition (Duo Ye for piano solo), the Lili Boulanger Award (National Women Composers Resource Center), the Sorel Medal (New York University), the Alpert Award (CalArts Institute), a Grammy Award, the Eddie Medora King Composition Prize (University of Texas), the 2001 ASCAP Concert Music Award, the 2002 Elise Stoeger Award from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Friendship Ambassador Award from the Snow Memorial Fund, the honorary doctorate from Lawrence University, WI, and the adventurous programming award from the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (for Music From China in New York).

Major commissions are received from Koussevitzky, Fromm, Ford, Rockefeller, Roche foundations, National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, Meet The Composer, Creative Work Fund, San Francisco Art Commission, Mary Cary Trust, NYSCA, Carnegie Hall, New Heritage Music Foundation, the American Guild of Organists, Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, Eastman School, Ithaca College, Bradley University, Miami University, Chorus America, the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music, the Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, for Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Seattle Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma & Pacific Symphony, Rascher Saxophone Quartet & Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin, Evelyn Glennie & Singapore Symphony, the Chamber Music Society of MN, The Women's Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Music Consort, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Chanticleer, KITKA, San Francisco Citywinds, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Music From China, the Ying Quartet, the Elements Quartet, the HK Chinese Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva, Network For New Music, and many others. Dr. Chen's music is performed worldwide and published by Theodore Presser Company. Her works are recorded on New Albion ('97), CRI ('99), Teldec ('97, '99 with Grammy), Nimbus ('93/'00), Cala ('95), Avant ('98), Atma ('99), Hugo ('00), Angel ('01), Bis ('02, '03, '04), Albany ('03), & China Record Corporation ('86, '90). The third album of her orchestral works Momentum has just been released on Bis in July 2003 [Bis 1352].

In 2001, Chen Yi has enjoyed a whole evening concert of her orchestral and choral works at Beijing Concert Hall in China, performed by the China National Symphony and its chorus, and the world premiere of her saxophone quartet concerto Ba Yin by Rascher Sax Quartet and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, the US premiere of her Percussion Concerto by Evelyn Glennie and National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin, at Kennedy Center in Washington DC & at Carnegie Hall in New York, the NY premiere of her trio Ning by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the European premiere of her Chinese Myths Cantata by Dresdner Sinfoniker, with Gu-Feng Ensemble and Honved Mannerchor from Budapest, conducted by Michael Helmrath, and European premiere of her Fiddle Suite for huqin and orchestra by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under its director Lan Shui on its Asian & European tour.

In 2002, her Chinese Fables for mixed Chinese and western instrumental ensemble was premiered by Music From China at Merkin Hall, NY, her choral work Know You How Many Petals Falling? was premiered by the Canadian choir Elmer Iseler Singers at the World Choral Symposium in MN, and To the New Millennium premiered by Miami University Choruses in Oxford, OH. As the Karel Husa Visiting Professor at Ithaca College (02/03), she has enjoyed a whole evening concert of her compositions performed by IC faculty musicians and chorus. Other such concerts have been given at Indiana State U. & Washington State U. in the year. Her Duo Ye No. 2 for full orchestra was performed by the Munchner Symphoniker, conducted by Hayko Siemens on their international tour to Sao Paulo, New York, Mexico City and Shanghai, at Lincoln Center's Fisher Hall in NY, the same place for the world premiere of the piece 15 years ago, given by the Central Philharmonic of China under the baton of Zuohuang Chen, on its US tour in 1987. Other important performances of Chen's works also include Momentum by Stanford Symphony on its European tour; Duo Ye No. 2 by Macao Chamber Orchestra & Shanghai Radio Symphony; and Fiddle Suite by Xu Ke & Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Most recent world premieres include her new string quartet At the Kansas City Chinese New Year Concert by the Ying Quartet on 5/2/203, at the Symphony Space in NY; Caramoor's Summer by the Orchestra of St. Luke's on 7/27/03, conducted by Peter Oundjian, to celebrate its 25th anniversary in residence at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, NY; and choral works for Kansas City Chorale, Chicago a cappella, and Singapore Youth Choir. Important performances include cello concerto Eleanor's Gift by Paul Tobias & Virginia Symphony conducted by JoAnn Falletta; Asian premiere of her violin concerto Chinese Folk Dance Suite by Cho-liang Lin & Singapore Symphony on 9/6/03 at the 4th Conference of Alliance of Orchestras in the Asia Pacific; the European premiere of her Percussion Concerto by Evelyn Glennie & BBC Symphony Orchestra, at the Proms Music Festival at Royal Albert Hall in London (with chamber works featured at the Proms Composer Portraits series) on 8/19/03, & the US West Coast premiere of the concerto with San Francisco Symphony on 10/22/03.

Upcoming premieres in 2004 include Ballad, Dance and Fantasy, her new cello concerto by Yo-Yo Ma and the Pacific Symphony (world premiere) in California on 3/10/04, conducted by Carl St. Claire; her Chinese Myths Cantata by BBC Philharmonic & BBC Singers (UK premiere) in Manchester on 1/24/04; her Symphony No. 3 by Seattle Symphony (world premiere) on 3/18/04, conducted by Gerard Schwarz, with an orchestra residency award Music Alive granted by Meet The Composer and American Symphony Orchestra League. Other world premiere works include a duet for David Shiffrin and André-michel Schub on their national tour and at Alice Tully Hall on 5/7/04, presented by the CMSL (as a result of winning the Stoeger Prize), a trio for Virginia Arts Festival / La Jolla SummerFest / Chamber Music Northwest / Aspen Music Festival (composition grant from Meet The Composer /USA Commissioning program); a chamber work for the Copland House Ensemble (composition grant from NYSCA); and Tu for symphonic wind ensemble (adapted from the original version for full orchestra, dedicated to the memory of the NY firefighters who died in the 9/11 tragedy) by UMKC Conservatory Wind Ensemble in spring of 2004. The Carnegie Hall will present a whole evening concert of Chen Yi's chamber music on its Making Music series in NY on4/20/04.

New projects include an orchestral work for Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, a violin concerto for Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, & Concerto for Orchestra for Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst at Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland in Sept. 2005 and at Carnegie Hall in New York in Jan. 2006.

Chen Yi is a frequent lecturer in composition workshops and her concerts worldwide. She is appointed to Guest Professor by five conservatories in China, and serves on the board or music jury of such prestigious national musical organizations as: Meet The Composer, Chamber Music America, Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, American Composers Orchestra, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, National Endowment for the Arts, and International Alliance of Women in Music, among others.

*CHEN is family name, Yi is personal name. CHEN Yi can be referred to Dr. Chen, Ms. Chen, Chen Yi, but not Dr. Yi, Ms. Yi or Yi.