Prolific composer Dr Chen Yi* blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. She is Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, and a recipient of the Charles Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Her music is published by Theodore Presser, and is commissioned and performed worldwide by musicians and ensembles such as Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, Chanticleer, the Cleveland Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Halle Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic, the Seattle, Pacific, Singapore, China National, San Francisco, Chicago, New Zealand symphony orchestras, the LA, NY, and China Philharmonics, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden.
She has been recorded on Bis, New Albion, New World, Teldec, Albany, Bridge, Naxos, and other labels. She has received both a Bachelor's and a Master’s degree in composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Columbia University, New York. Major composition teachers are Professors Wu Zuqiang, Chou Wen-chung and Mario Davidovsky. She has been inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letter.
* Given name 'Yi', family name 'Chen'.