Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ms. Chen graduated from the National Academy of Art with highest honors in 1990, where she performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. In 1992, she entered Mannes College of Music, where in 1994 she performed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on the theme of Paganini under the baton of Maestro Michael Charry. Shortly after her graduation from Mannes with a special piano award, Ms. Chen made her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall as a winner of the 1995 New York Concert Artists Competition. Frequently performing in a piano duo with her husband Alexander Paley, Ms. Chen performs annually at the Alexander Paley Music Festival in Richmond, Virginia, as well at the Festival Alexandre Paley et ses Amis at Moulin d’Ande, France.
In December 2001, Ms. Chen made her Paris debut playing Liszt’s Concerto Pathetique for two pianos in Salle O. Messiaen, Maison de Radio France. In 2003, she performed Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade in the composer’s own one-piano, four-hands version, broadcast live worldwide from Seattle, Washington, on kings.org. In March 2004, Ms. Chen performed both Mozart and Mendelssohn piano concertos for two pianos with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra in Vilnius, Lithuania. In the summer of 2009, Ms. Chen returned to Taiwan and gave a gala concert in the National Concert Hall in Taipei to benefit young musicians there. In 2011, she performed Mozart concertos for two and three pianos in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
As a collaborative artist, Ms. Chen has worked with artists including Licia Abanese, Elly Ameling, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Evelyn Lear, Diane Soviero, Deborah Voigt, Ruth Falcon, Mignon Dunn, Sherril Milnes, and Olga Peretyako, among others. In 1998, she joined the production of Fedora for Washington Opera. In addition, Ms. Chen served as a pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild as well as for Amato Opera in NYC for many seasons. She has been a member of the music faculty for IVAI in Virginia and NYC, CVAI in Canada, as well as a faculty member for VOICExperience in Florida, CoOperative at Rider University, and Savannah Voice Festival. She is a member of faculty at Mannes College of Music.
