Chih-Chen Wei 魏志真
Biography
Chih-Chen Wei’s composition "Between Stream and Hills V — Odyssey" is available in the album Viola Works by American Female Composers, Centaur Records (CRC 3332), recorded by violist Hsiaopei Lee and pianist Chialing Hsieh; and “Farewell” in the album Ten Poems, recorded by flutiest Cheng-Yu Wu (Ho Kuan; TAS001).
Her abstract, “Synergy: Western Musical Practice and Asian Aesthetics,” was selected by American Viola Society in 2016, and was presented at Oberlin Conservatory. Her composition “Odyssey” was featured in the lecture-recital “New Music for Viola by Victoria Bond and Chih-Chen Wei,” in Music by Women Festival 2017. Her lecture-recital, “Old Wine, New Bottle?” was presented and performed in the 45th International Viola Congress, Rotterdam, Holland, 2018, hosted by The Dutch Viola Society. Her abstract “Synergy: Eastern Folk Tunes and Viola Expressions” was selected by Polish Viola Society in the 46th International Viola Congress, 2019.
Chih-Chen Wei’s compositions have been played by Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, HsinYi Symphony Orchestra, Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Yichih trio, soprano Stacey Fraser, tenor Andrew Crane, flutiest Glendy Chien, percussionist Nick Terry, clarinetist Lori Baruch, bassoonist David Oyen, harpist Cindy Chen, pianist Slawomir P. Dobrzanski, Charleen Liu, Kelly Anderson, Jocelyn Hua-Chen Chang, and Amber Liao and among others.
Her works have been selected and performed in the concert of Clarinetfest 2016 by Trifecta! at the Swarthout Recital Hall, Lawrence, Kansas; the American Viola Society Festival 2016 in Oberlin Conservatory; Sound of Dragon Music Festival 2015, Toronto, Canada; Society of Composers, Inc., Region VI Conference at Oklahoma City University and Kansas State University (2010), UCM New Music Festival 2011 at University of Central Missouri; 7th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music in San Francisco (2009); Asian Composers League in Korea (2009); New Music Concert, All Faiths Chapel, School of Music, Theatre and Dance, Kansas State University (2015); National Association of Composers/USA in Los Angeles; Cantai Music Festival in Taipei; Thailand International Composition Festival (2008); National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Composition Festival (2010), and others.
Born in Taiwan, Chih-Chen Wei entered the National Taiwan Normal University, earning a bachelor of music degree. She then completed her master of music degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Doctor of Musical Arts with academic honors and distinction, Pi Kappa Lambda, from the University of Southern California. Her composition mentors include Chinary Ung, Stephen Hartke, Donald Crockett, Paul Chihara, Ian Krouse, Fang-Long Ko, Shyh-ji Chew, and Ting-Lien Wu. She currently teaches Music Theory at Chapman University in Southern California.
Roles
- Composer