M.M.A., Yale School of Music; M.M., The Juilliard School; B.M. China Conservatory; (D.M.A 2023 anticipated), The Peabody Institute.
Praised by Marin Alsop as an “amazing young pianist,” Chengcheng Yao is rapidly emerging as one of the most creative and expressive artists of her generation. Her highlights include performances of Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop and with the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra under Timothy Muffitt.
Yao’s solo performances have taken her to prestigious venues across North America, Europe, and Asia, such as Alice Tully Hall in New York, Laeiszhalle and Steinway Hall in Hamburg, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Vienna’s Beethoven Center and University of Music and Performing Arts, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts and Forbidden City Concert Hall, and the University of Toronto.
A passionate chamber musician, Yao has participated in major festivals including the Chautauqua Music Festival (USA), Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival and Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival (Italy), University of Toronto New Music Festival (Canada), and Beijing International Piano Festival (China). Winner of the 2017 Elizabeth Parisot Prize—for “outstanding pianists” at the Yale School of Music—Yao has been recognized with numerous awards.
Yao completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She holds two master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Matti Raekallio, Peter Frankl, and Hung-Kuan Chen. While pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, she worked with legendary pianist Leon Fleisher and Yong Hi Moon. Yao has been a piano faculty member at the Washington Conservatory of Music since 2021, teaching students of all ages.
