
Praised as an "amazing young pianist" by Marin Alsop, Chengcheng Yao is quickly
establishing herself as one of today's most creative artists. Recent highlights include her
performances of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of Marin Alsop, and with the Chautauqua Music School Festival
Orchestra under conductor Timothy Muffitt. She has also performed as a soloist with the
Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and Hebei Symphony Orchestra. Yao has given solo performances at many venues across North America, Asia, and Europe, including Alice
Tully Hall in New York City, Laeiszhalle and Steinway Hall in Hamburg, Mozarteum in
Salzburg, Beethoven Center and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna,
Chinese Culture Center and Berlin University of the Arts in Berlin, National Center for the
Performing Arts and Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and University of Toronto.
As a dedicated chamber musician, Yao has participated in several music festivals,
including the Chautauqua Music Festival in the United States, the Virtuoso & Belcanto
Festival in Italy, the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival in Italy, the University of Toronto
New Music Festival in Canada, and the Beijing International Piano Festival in China. Her
performance experience spans notable venues such as Heliconian Hall in Toronto, Morse
Hall at The Juilliard School in New York City, Morse Recital Hall at Yale School of Music
in New Haven, the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall at the Peabody Institute in
Baltimore, among others. Yao has been serving as a coach for the Homewood Chamber
Music Seminar at Johns Hopkins University since September 2024.
Winner of the 2017 Elizabeth Parisot Prize, awarded to "outstanding pianists" at Yale
School of Music, Yao has won prizes in numerous competitions. Her list of achievements
includes First and Special Prize in the 71st Steinway International Piano Competition, First
Prize in both the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition in Chautauqua and the Harrison Winter
Piano Competition at Peabody Institute, Silver Medals in the 68th Wideman International
Piano Competition and the 2016 Young Artist Piano Concerto Competition, Second Prize
in the Virtuoso & Belcanto Piano Competition in Italy, and Third Prizes in both the
Weatherford College International Piano Competition and the WPTA International Piano
Competition.
Since 2021, Yao has been serving as a piano instructor at the Washington Conservatory of Music, where she provides individualized instruction to students of all ages, focusing on
musicality, technical proficiency, and personal expression. From 2021 to 2023, she held
the position of Piano Minor Lesson Instructor at Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins
University, providing one-on-one piano lessons to undergraduate students. In addition to
her teaching roles, Yao has given masterclasses at the Peabody Institute and the China
Conservatory of Music, sharing her expertise and inspiring students in their musical
journeys. Furthermore, during her time as a Secondary Piano Lesson Instructor at the Yale School of Music (2016-2017), she guided students in refining their performance skills
while integrating music theory and history into the curriculum, fostering a comprehensive
understanding of music.
Yao completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the China Conservatory of Music in
Beijing. She holds two master's degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale School of
Music, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Matti Raekallio, Peter Frankl, and
Hung-Kuan Chen. She worked with legendary pianist Leon Fleisher and Yong Hi Moon at
the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University while pursuing her Doctor of Musical
Arts degree.