Elijah (Eli) began piano and cello lessons at 3 and 5 respectively. He joined the Union County Prelude Orchestra at age 7, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra at age 9, and then the Youth Orchestra of Charlotte (YOC) at the age of 11 in which he currently sits as principal cellist. He has participated with the both Western Regional NC and State Youth Orchestras and was principal cellist fall 2023 of the NC State Orchestra. Eli has won numerous awards in local and state piano music competitions and events. He was a cello scholarship recipient for 4 consecutive years with Charlotte Arts Plus and received a scholarship to attend the Brevard Summer Piano Camp in 2022. He received 1st place in the Charlotte Piano Teachers Forum Piano Concerto Competition (2022), 1st place in the Symphony Guild of Charlotte Concerto Competition (2023) on piano and placed 2nd with the Symphony Guild of Charlotte Concerto Competition (2025) on cello. Eli was the featured soloist playing Tchaikovsky piano concerto No. 1, accompanied by YOC in May 2024. His piano teachers include Dr. Paul Nitsch and Mrs. Phyllis Teague (piano) and Mr. Alan Black (cello). When not playing music, Eli enjoys playing tennis, reading, and engaging friends and family in thought-provoking conversation.
You can find Elijah’s 2022 International Piano Competition performance here.
You can find Elijah’s 2023 International Piano Competition performance here.
You can find Elijah’s 2024 Autumn Music Competition piano performance here.
Watch Elijah Lee Chen perform Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 by Dvorak on the cello for the 2025 Virtuoso Music Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.