Chih-Chen Wei

Born in Taiwan, Chih-Chen Wei attended the National Taiwan Normal University, earning a Bachelor of Music. She then completed her Master of Music 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.  She serves as a faculty member at Chapman University in California.   

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; Farewell is in the album Ten Poems, recorded by flutist Cheng-Yu Wu (Ho Kuan; TAS001).  Her compositions have been played by Los Angeles Chamber Singers, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, Taipei Chamber Singers, HsinYi Symphony Orchestra, Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Dharma Drum Mountain Choir, Yichih Trio, soprano Stacey Fraser, tenor Andrew Crane, flutist Glendy Chien, percussionist Nick Terry, clarinetist Lori Baruch, bassoonist David Oyen, harpist Cindy Chen, pianist Slawomir P. Dobrzanski, Kelly Anderson, and Amber Liao.

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 among others.

Her abstract, “Synergy: Western Musical Practice and Asian Aesthetics,” was selected by the American Viola Society 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 the 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 the Polish Viola Society in the 46th International Viola Congress, 2019.  “Creating A New Voice with Gamelan” was presented in the “50th Anniversary World Music Symposium” at Northern Illinois University in 2025.  

Her “Dreams About the Future” involved two performing groups (choreographers and Orchestra),  an unusual and significant project, which was premiered at Taipei Performing Arts Center in 2023.  

Wei’s composition mentors included: Shyhji Chew, Ting-Lien Wu, Fang-Long Ko, Paul Chihara, Ian Krouse, Donald Crockett, Stephen Hartkey, Chinary Ung and David Loong-Hsing Wen.  

In 2022, she began exploring Jazz composition, and she then mixed world music and jazz music in her album “Gamelan Flowers.”  This album fuses Indonesian Gamelan Artist (feat. Kuo-Chen Lin) and a Jazz ensemble.  Chih-Chen Wei hopes the sound of her music can provide spiritual purity to heal the human heart. When you are happy, calm, sad, angry, doubtful, or low in energy, may this album be emotional comfort to you.

Gear

Piano