Virginia (Ya-Chien) ChangChien

Oboe

Oboist Virginia ChangChien enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and educator. She has performed numerous concerts in prestigious venues, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, and Washington, D.C.

Among Virginia's career highlights: she was granted a music residency at the Banff Centre in Canada and was a guest artist at the Eleazar de Carvalho Festival in Brazil. After her Carnegie Hall debut, she was commissioned by the New York Composers Circle to premiere contemporary works.

Her solo performances have garnered acclaim for their "lyrical and thoughtful flow" from music critics at The Glass and Soundwordsight. As a soloist, she has performed concertos including the Bach Double Concerto for Violin and Oboe, the Barber Concerto, the Marcello Concerto, the J. Rietz Concerto, the Vaughan Williams Concerto, and the Gossens Concerto.

She has been invited to the Bear Valley Festival and collaborated with recognized artists, including Olga Kern, Michael Mogan, Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Inva Mula, and Ryo Goto.

As Artistic Director, in 2023, Virginia toured Taiwan with the "Phantasy Trio" and was invited as a Klavierhaus (New York City) concert artist. She is the first oboist to present a concert entitled "Oboe, Viola and Piano Trio."

As a seasoned orchestral player, other appearances include: the United Nations Symphony Orchestra, Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra, United Nations Woodwind Quintet, the Ureuk Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Symphony Orchestra, and La Jolla Symphony.

Music festivals she has participated in include: Rethinking Bach Workshop, NYC; Banff Center, Canada; Domaine Forget Music Festival, Canada; Ostrava Oboe Festival, Czech Republic; Eleazar de Carvalho Festival, Brazil; and the International Youth and Culture Arts Festival, New York.

In 2017, she released an EP featuring contemporary solo work for oboe and her inaugural album, “Oboist: Virginia Chang Chien,” which featured works by Marcello, Schumann, and Ravel, released on the MEII Enterprises label.

Virginia received a master’s degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College (CUNY). Her mentors include Humbert Lucarelli, Gordon Hunt, Washington Barella, and Sarah Skuster.