Our Musicians

Chi-Yuan Chen
Viola

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, violist Chi-Yuan Chen is recognized as one of the leading violists from his native country. His father is a musician /conductor, a professor in Chinese Music, and his mother taught him piano until the age of eleven. "As you could probably guess," Chi-Yuan says, "I was exposed to both Chinese and Western music at a very early age. Music to me is not a profession; it is my life. To me, learning and practicing music is an extremely lonely path, but making/sharing music makes up for the loneliness."

In 1999, Mr. Chen became the first violist ever to win the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition since its inception in 1867. In 2000, he was awarded the Henri Kohn award from the Tanglewood Music Center for his outstanding musicianship and contribution, and in 2004, he won the 3 rd prize of the International Paris Viola Competition Ville d'Avray.

A graduate of New England Conservatory with the highest distinction in performance in both Bachelor and Master degrees, Mr. Chen also holds a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University in New York.