James Meng-Chieh Yen, 16 , lives in Missouri City, Texas and began studying piano at the age of 6 under the direction of Dr. Mei Rui. He is currently a student at Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas.
James was a silver medalist at Houston Music Teachers Association (HMTA) competition in 2014. In 2015, he was a third place winner at International Music Competition Grand Prize Virtuoso, as well as a semifinalist at the Ninth International Chopin Youth Competition held by Chopin Society of Houston. In 2018, he completed the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Level 8 Piano Exam.
James is a three-time performer at Carnegie Hall, New York:
American Protégé Piano and String Competition in 2015 (3rd Place Winner)
Concert Festival Piano Competition in March, 2016 (Grand Prix Winner)
Golden Classical Music Award Winner, March, 2022 (First Place Winner)
In May 2022, in the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Piano Competition, James was one of the silver medalists. In the Summer of 2022, he was accepted and attended the two-week Oberlin Piano Festival.
In addition to piano playing, James was a member of the Fort Bend Boys Choir for over 8 years, which he sang and performed with different levels of boys choirs in numerous concerts in Texas as well as in the out-of-state and the international tour trips.
James was also a third prize winner of the Charleston International 2023 Spring Music Competition.
He is currently an active violinist in Dulles Honors Orchestra, and attended the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Violin Competition in Austin, Texas, in May 2023. Aside from performing music, James enjoys math, science, badminton, basketball, music composition, chess, and video games. During the Dulles High School Spring concert in May of 2023, James’ String Orchestra composition (Blue Sky Adventure) was performed by the Dulles High School Varsity/Honors Orchestra.
You can find James’s 2023 Spring Music Competition piano performance here.
You can find James’s 2023 Contemporary Music Competition piano performance here.