Alber Chien

Alber Chien is an award-winning pianist based in California, known for his work as a soloist, collaborator, and chamber musician. His performances have taken him to prestigious venues across the United States, including Carnegie’s Weill Hall, as well as to Taiwan and Germany. Among his many competition accolades are 2nd prize in the Los Angeles Liszt International Competition (where he also won the Best Performance of Hungarian Rhapsody Award), first prize in the Music Teachers Association of California’s State Piano Concerto Competition, and first prize in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival for his performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. In chamber music, he earned first prize in both the VOCE State Competition for Chamber Ensembles and the Rutgers University Mason Gross Chamber Music Competition.

Chien earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. His teachers include world-renowned artists such as Daniel Pollack, Shigeo Neriki, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, and Daniel Epstein. He has also performed in masterclasses with Oxana Yablonskaya, Gustavo Romero, and Llyr Williams, and was nominated to attend the prestigious Gilmore Keyboard Festival.

As a collaborative pianist, Chien has worked with celebrated performers such as Shmuel Ashkenazi, Midori, and Vadim Gluzman, and served as studio accompanist for esteemed university professors across various instruments and voice. His past positions include staff pianist at Indiana University’s Summer String Academy and Manhattan School of Music’s Pre-College Division. He is currently a Staff Pianist at the renowned Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Beyond his collaborative work, Chien is committed to contemporary music and has premiered numerous compositions. He was a member of the Atlantic Music Festival’s Contemporary Music Ensemble in 2019.

An experienced educator, Chien has taught at both Indiana University and Rutgers University, offering individual and group piano lessons to music majors and non-majors. He has also held the position of Visiting Professor of Piano at McLennan Community College, where he taught a range of courses including applied piano, advanced music theory, ear training, music literature, music appreciation, opera workshop, instrumental coaching, and vocal coaching. During the past academic season, he served as a Visiting Instructor of Piano at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he was also the Coordinator of Collaborative Piano, Piano Faculty of the Arts Academy, and Music Director of the Opera/Musical Theatre Ensemble.