Composer Chen Yi
Chen Yi’s spirited musical tribute to Lunar New Year, Spring Festival, is a highlight of our winter 2026 program.
Ms. Chen says of this work:
My Spring Festival for middle school band was commissioned by the American Composers Forum's New Band Horizons in 1999 (the project was renamed as Bandquest), duration is three minutes, premiered by the Smith-Hale Middle School Band conducted by Jan Davis in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 2, 2000. The work has been performed and recorded around the world over the years. The pitch material in Spring Festival is drawn from a southern Chinese folk ensemble piece “Lion Playing Ball.” The structure is built according to the Golden Section theory. Students can learn to count precisely by playing syncopations and non-square rhythmic grouping phrases, many of which are in polyphonic writing. The articulations and the dynamic marks on all notes are very important. They enhance the expression in the style and the spirit of the piece.
Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Dr. Chen Yi has established herself as one of the most significant artistic voices of her generation. Born in China in 1953 and raised during the Cultural Revolution, Dr. Chen began her career as a violinist, procuring the post of concertmaster of the Peking Opera Orchestra in Guangzhou while still a teenager. She received her Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, becoming the first woman to receive the latter degree from the institution. She later obtained her DMA in Composition from Columbia University.
Dr. Chen has had works performed by many of the world’s greatest ensembles, such as the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics; the BBC, Cleveland, and Singapore Symphony Orchestras; the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; and Chanticleer, and has collaborated with soloists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, and Evelyn Glennie. Chen’s understanding of and respect for distinctly different musical traditions, and the impeccable skill with which she blends them — whether in small arrangements for consorts of traditional Chinese instruments, large symphonic works utilizing Western instruments, or a plethora of pieces that employ both — is nothing short of remarkable.
Since 1998, Chen has been the Lorena Cravens/Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. Previously, she was on faculty at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. She is married to composer Zhou Long, a fellow alumnus of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and fellow professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City
Chen Yi believes that music is a universal language, which can improve understanding between people with different cultural backgrounds and help to bring peace in the world.
We contacted Chen Yi and asked her to share her journey in music, her favorite musical memory, and more.
Please tell us about your journey in music and life. I was born in a family of medical doctors who loved classical music. I started studying the piano at the age of 3, and the violin at 4 with classical music repertoire in the 1950s. My music education was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution in China during my teenage years. During the difficult period of forced labor, I have learnt the importance of civilization and education, and discovered my cultural roots and a unique musical language. I served as the Concertmaster of the Beijing Opera Troupe in my hometown, Guangzhou, for eight years before the end of the Cultural Revolution, and studied both Western music and Chinese traditional music systematically at the Central Conservatory in Beijing when higher education resumed in China. I earned my doctorate from Columbia University in New York, then served as Resident Composer with the Women’s Philharmonic, the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, and the Aptos Middle School Creative Arts Center in San Francisco, with strong influences in multicultural environments. I started teaching composition at Peabody Conservatory in 1996, and have been the Distinguished Professor in Composition at the UMKC Conservatory since 1998, working hard in teaching and promoting cultural exchange internationally.
What have been some of your musical influences? As a violinist, I played through some of the standard repertoire in classical music, from Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski to Sibelius and Prokofiev concertos, and from Sarasate and Saint-Saëns concert pieces to all of Paganini's 24 Caprices and Bach's six unaccompanied suites. As an orchestral musician, I enjoyed learning the traditional music style of Beijing Opera and the mixed instrumental orchestration.
Please share your favorite musical memory. I composed my Chinese Myths Cantata for orchestra, choir, and four Chinese traditional instrumentalists in 1996 with a brilliant premiere by the Women’s Philharmonic and Chanticleer, conducted by JoAnn Falletta in San Francisco. I enjoyed working intensively with Evelyn Glennie in my Percussion Concerto, which was premiered by the Singapore Symphony with subsequent performances by many other orchestras, including the BBC Symphony at the Proms. I also enjoyed working closely together with Yo-Yo Ma in my trio Ning for pipa, violin, and cello in Minnesota, and my second cello concerto Ballad, Dance, and Fantasy in California. I have learned so much from these great artists.
Which composer/musician, past or present, would you most like to meet for a coffee and why? Many, past and present, for getting compositions done or sharing creative thoughts.
What inspires you? The society is a network, from past to present, from remote to close, from virtual to physical; everything interacts with everything else. They could be an inspiration to me for my music creation.
What do you do to relax? To do housework, to chat with my family and friends.
Do you have any advice for young musicians? To love nature and people, to enhance your curiosity and seek inspiration, and to work hard in your profession. You will be the inspiration to the world.
Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band. Let’s celebrate friendship, global traditions, and the joy of making music together with all musicians of the NCB and our audience in the Spring Festival, with my best wishes to all of you for the Year of the Horse in 2026!
Is there anything else that you would like our audience to know about you? I love sharing my music with our audience who might have different cultural backgrounds because I believe that music is a universal language, which could help improve understanding between people and bring peace to the future of the world.
A special thank you to Chen Yi for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material. Read more about Ms. Chen HERE. Enjoy her Spotify playlists: Chen Yi and The Music of Chen Yi, and the YouTube playlist The Music of Chen Yi HERE.
IN GOOD COMPANY
Sunday, February 22, 2026, 3:00 p.m.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, Illinois
Learn more about the Northshore Concert Band at www.northshoreband.org
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