I believe art, at its core, emanates from a love for life and yet is directed toward truth. It embraces the human yet can transcend individual and collective limitations, whether historical or cultural. Serving as a rite for experiencing unknown possibilities, art takes us to places beyond imagination. Guided by this conviction, I create.
I see myself as a writer—writing about people, telling stories, imagining places, creating real and fictional worlds. It is only by some twist of fate that I find solace in the expression of music.

About me 關於
Chen Yihan's music has been performed by renowned orchestras and ensembles, including the China Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, China National Centre for the Performing Arts Center Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of the China National Opera House, American Composers Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, among others. Renowned artists such as pianist Tamara Stefanovich and multi-instrumentalist Min Xiao-Fen have also performed his music. Yihan's accolades include a Copland House Residency Award, three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, the Jacobs School of Music Dean's Prize, and recognition from the American Prize and the National Association of Composers/USA, among others. In 2023, he will make his debut as a film composer with the Chinese-language feature film "Manifesto," produced by the Shanghai Film Group Corporation.
Hailed as "colorful" and "incisive" by Oregon Artswatch, Yihan is also an active pianist. As a featured performer at Portland Piano International's contemporary piano festival "The Clearing," he has shared the stage with renowned pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich. Active as a new music pianist, Yihan has premiered numerous contemporary composers' works. His achievements as a pianist include winning the Grand Prize at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, the New World Youth Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Young Artist Concerto Competition at Murray State University, and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Yihan made his debut as an orchestral soloist at the age of 11 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, performing with the New World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Education 教育
2020-Present
Princeton University
Ph.D. candidate in music composition | Dmitri Tymoczko
2018-2020
Princeton University
M.F.A. in music composition
2016-2018
The Juilliard School
M.M. in music composition | Christopher Rouse
2014, 2015
Freie Universität Berlin
Course in music composition | Samuel Adler
2012-2016
Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
B.M. in music composition | Claude Baker, P.Q. Phan, Sven-David Sandström, Aaron Travers | Electronic Musıc: Jeffry Hass, John Gibson
B.M. in piano performance | Arnaldo Cohen, Shigeo Neriki
2010-2012
Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
OPEN program in piano performance | Arnaldo Cohen
2007-2012
Private studies
Composition | Don Freund
2005-2007
Private studies
Composition | Derek Johnson
2005-2010
Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
Young Pianist Program | Karen M. Taylor