Born in Beijing, Dr. Yiyi Chen began studying piano at the age of four and performed annually at the Beijing Concert Hall, Concert Hall of Central Conservatory of Music, and Forbidden City Concert Hall. She received her Bachelor of Music in piano performance from New York University studying with Dr. Jose Ramon Mendez, her Master of Music in piano performance from Northwestern University with Dr. James Giles, and her Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from University of Washington studying with Dr. Robin McCabe. While completing her studies she has continued to perform both domestically and abroad, including at the Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain, Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival in Italy and the International Holland Music Sessions, International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to performing, she has participated in many competitions, winning Fourth Prize in the third KAWAI Asia Piano Competition, Third Prize in the fourteenth Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition, Golden Prize in the Macau International Youth Music Competition, and an Excellence Award in the Fourth International Chopin Piano Competition in Asia.

Dr. Yiyi has more than 10 years of formal teaching experience, especially working with younger students. Dr. Yiyi’s musical education training includes formal coursework at New York University, where she also gained experience as a student teacher in New York Public Schools. At Northwestern University, Dr. Yiyi has taught pre-college and college students as part of her Master of Music degree program. During that time, Dr. Yiyi also represented Northwestern while presenting on music education curriculum at the Music Teachers National Association 2016 Conference in Illinois. While completing her doctorate degree at the University of Washington, Dr. Yiyi was the head teaching assistant for the school’s piano department, where she taught UW students and was also a sought-after teacher for private students at Cascade Piano Studio. Dr. Yiyi currently serves as a music faculty at Tacoma Community College, teaching applied piano lessons.