Piano Faculty
Alber Chien is a versatile musician who actively performs as a soloist, collaborator, and
chamber musician. As a soloist, he has performed recitals in Germany, Taiwan, and across
the United States. During his early years in California, he already performed in many of the
state’s venues including recitals at American Jewish University’s Ghindi Auditorium,
Richard Nixon Museum Library, Los Angeles Riverside Convention Center, Santa Clara
Convention Center, California State University at Dominguez Hills’ La Corte Hall, University
of Southern California’s Alfred Newman Hall, and many more. In 2007, he performed two
recitals in Taiwan’s Chinese Culture University as part of a cultural exchange program
organized by the International Composer’s Society in Los Angeles and the Overseas
Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan). He went on to perform solo
recitals in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Indiana.
Chien is also a sought-after chamber musician and collaborator for his extensive repertoire
and experience. As a collaborator, he has performed extensively, including performances at
Carnegie Hall, CUNY Lehman College, Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, Los
Angeles County Museum of Arts, and University of California in Irvine’s Winifred Smith
Hall. He played for masterclasses of great performers such as Shmuel Ashkenazi, Midori,
and Vadim Gluzman. For many years, he was the studio accompanist for esteemed
university professors of all instruments and voice. Furthermore, he held positions as Staff
Pianist at Indiana University’s Summer String Academy and Manhattan School of Music’s
Pre-College Division. His experience extends to collaboration in New Music. He frequently
collaborated with composers in premiering new compositions and was a member of
Atlantic Music Festival’s Contemporary Music Ensemble.
Chien is an award-winning pianist for both solo piano and chamber music. His many
competition prizes include the 2nd prize in the Los Angeles Liszt International Competition
with the Best Performance of Hungarian Rhapsody Award and first prize in the Music
Teacher’s Association of California’s State Piano Concerto. When he was fifteen, he won
first prize in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival for his performance of Bach’s
Goldberg Variations. In chamber music, his awards include first prize in the VOCE State
Competition for Chamber Ensembles and Rutgers University Mason Gross Chamber Music
Competition.
In his studies, Chien earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music at Indiana
University’s Jacobs School of Music. He recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts at
Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, presenting his research on
Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. His teachers include esteemed artists such as Daniel
Pollack, Shigeo Neriki, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, and Daniel Epstein. Over the years, he
performed in the masterclasses of Oxana Yablonskaya, Gustavo Romero, and Llyr Williams.
He was also nominated to attend the Gilmore Keyboard Festival.
As an educator, Chien held positions at Indiana University and Rutgers University, teaching
individual piano lessons and group piano lessons to music majors and non-music majors.