Pianist Chih-Yi Chen’s versatile qualities as a collaborative partner, chamber musician and teacher have contributed to a distinguished international career.  Chen is a Teaching Professor of Music in Collaborative Piano and the Associate Chair of the Chamber and Collaborative Music Department at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.  She has been on the faculty since 2003 and was a recipient of the 2023 Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award.  She has also been on the faculty of the Indiana University Summer String Academy for more than two decades. 

Chen has been performing with International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Laureates since 2003 when she was first invited to perform with Barnabás Kelemen.  She has served as an official pianist for the competition since the 9th Quadrennial in 2014 and was awarded special recognition at the 2018 Competition for “Best Performances” of the Beethoven and Mozart sonatas.  She has also served as an official pianist for the China International Music Competition in Beijing and the Washington International Competition for Strings in Washington, DC.  Her early work with the talented young violinists of the Indiana University Violin Virtuosi directed by renowned pedagogue Mimi Zweig led to performances in France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Japan and throughout the United States. 

Among the numerous musicians with whom Chen has collaborated are Jaime Laredo, Mihaela Martin, Kyoko Takezawa, Sirena Huang, Richard Lin, Luke Hsu, Liviu Prunaru, Augustin Hadelich, Clara-Jumi Kang, Kerson Leong, Svetlin Roussev, Atar Arad, Sharon Robinson, and Gabor Varga.  She has also performed with the Michelangelo, Pacifica, Rubens, Verona and Balourdet string quartets.  

Chen has served as an adjudicator for competitions and given masterclasses in the United States, Taiwan, Argentina and China.  Born in Taipei, Chih-Yi Chen received her Bachelor, Master and Doctor of Music degrees from Indiana University where she studied with Lev Vlasenko, and with Luba Edlina-Dubinsky, pianist of the Borodin Trio.