Yi Chen

Phrasings and hints of Chinese folksongs, and the dramatic beauty of nature, are often the deep inspiration for Chen Yi’s musical worlds, along with the subtle relationship between folk arts and progr...

Inspired by Chinese tradition, this concerto-like dance suite includes: 1. Lion Dance, 2. YangKo, and 3. Muqam. Each movement draws from melodies and rhythms characteristic of various regions of China...

The first of three volumes of folk songs collected from the provinces of China. It can be performed a cappella or with piano accompaniment.

For S.A.T.B. Chorus and optional Piano

Chen Yi’s original "A Set of Chinese Folk Songs" included ten songs first arranged for vocal ensemble. Taken from a wide range of geographic regions in China, the expressive set has been sung by many...

Chen Yi’s beautiful and highly-textured tone poem was inspired by ancient Chinese poetry; its melodic ideas were developed from musical phrases characteristic of Chinese opera. Wang Ya’s original vers...

YangKo, an important form of mass folk-dance that originated in northern China, has recently become popular throughout the entire country. In YangKo, the performers not only dance, but they play rhyth...

Chen Yi's THREE BAGATELLES FROM CHINA WEST is a suite of Chinese folk songs. Originally written for flute and piano, many soloists and ensembles have requested transcriptions of these pieces for their...

Beautifully atmospheric and within reach of advanced students, Fisherman's Song is a poignant addition to every flutist's repertoire. Chen Yi describes the main theme as evocative of the ornamented pe...

With endlessly imaginative timbral and textural invention, Chen Yi weaves an ethereal and alluring nocturnal tapestry of sounds in Night Thoughts. The melodic construction is often gestural and freely...

Chen Yi's THREE BAGATELLES FROM CHINA WEST are a trio of Chinese folk songs. Originally written for flute and piano, many soloists and ensembles have requested transcriptions of these pieces for their...

Chen Yi's Fire for 12 players, commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition, was premiered in 2019 by the Grossman Ensemble under the baton of James Baker at the University of Chica...

Chen Yi’s ELEGY was composed in 2020 both as her own response to the covid pandemic, and in conjunction with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s series of solo commissions for their performers offered...

TACHUN (SPRING OUTING) was composed in 2021 for The Joy Project, to commission uplifting works for performance at free outdoor concerts in the San Francisco Bay region. The work's title comes from the...

“Spring Vitality,” the first movement of Chen Yi's SONG OF SPRING for string quartet, embeds rhythmic speech in quietly churning fragments of polyphony to suggest the sounds of falling rain, sure to c...

Chen Yi describes her violin concerto SPRING IN DRESDEN as an American commemoration of the reconstruction of the Dresden Frauenkirche, which was destroyed by American and British forces during World...

Inspired by Chinese tradition, this concerto-like dance suite includes: 1. Lion Dance, 2. YangKo, and 3. Muqam. Each movement draws from melodies and rhythms characteristic of various regions of China...

Commissioned by The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, IMPRESSIONS FROM THE CHINESE ZODIAC is a suite of three characteristic pieces within reach of advanced pre-college saxophonists, and i...

A recipient of the New Music USA 2013 Live Music For Dance Award commissioning grant; Not Alone is inspired by the ancient Chinese poet Li Bai's poem 'Drinking Alone under the Moon with the Shadow.' T...

Chen Yi describes the cheery interplay of HAPPY TUNE as: 'When one instrument plays a lively melody, the other plays a vivid rhythmic pattern in the accompaniment. The pair of string instruments imita...