Pianist Jocelyn Hua-Chen Chang is praised as “a pianist of virtuoso caliber” whose “artistry is very unique and communicative with wonderful attention to detail, texture, color, and style.” Her performances are “filled with flair and conviction”; her “performance ability is first-rate while still playing with charm and sensibility.”
Dr. Chang holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance with Distinction from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she majored in Piano Performance with concentrations in Keyboard Collaborative Arts, Double Bass Performance, and Music Education. She received her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National Taiwan Normal University, where she majored in Piano Performance with a minor in Double Bass Performance. Chang was enrolled in Taiwan’s prestigious government program for musically talented children in the city of Taipei beginning in elementary school and through high school. Additionally, she has also studied at the Belarusian State Academy of Music in Minsk, Belarus.
Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chang is active as a recitalist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe and Taiwan. She made her concerto debut in the National Concert Hall in Taiwan with the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra in 2003. She has garnered numerous accolades and top prizes from the National Piano Competition in Taiwan, the SinoPac Young Artist Piano Competition, the Taipei Piano Competition, the National Taiwan Normal University Piano Concerto Competition, the Taiwan Pace Young Musician Awards, the National Chamber Music Competition in Taiwan, the Taipei Double Bass Competition, and the National Double Bass Competition in Taiwan.
She has also received an array of awards and scholarships including the USC Dean's Full Scholarship, USC Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Gabriel Mekler Memorial Endowed Music Scholarship, USC Thornton Board of Advisors Mentorship Program, the Claire and Allan Jensen Endowed Scholarship, Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University Scholarship, KAWAI Music Scholarship, and the National Taiwan 228 Memorial Scholarship. Additionally, she was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Society.
While completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Dr. Chang served on the piano faculty teaching Class Piano, Piano Lessons and Chamber Music at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. For her accomplishments and effectiveness as an educator, USC has distinguished her as a Model Teacher. Dr. Chang has also served as Vice President to the USC Chapter of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) as well as State Chair of Honors Auditions of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT). She remains in demand as both pianist and coach at Pasadena City College. In addition to numerous performances, Dr. Chang is very passionate about teaching and maintains a busy private teaching studio in Los Angeles where she offers piano lessons, instrumental coaching lessons, theory lessons, workshops, and prepares her students for recitals, music festivals, and competitions as well as the Certificate of Merit program of the Music Teachers' Association of California (MTAC).
Chang has also worked extensively with the internationally renowned concert pianist Daniel Pollack, who is a pupil of the legendary Rosina Lhévinne and Josef Lhévinne. Through her academic journey, she has also been under the tutelage of distinguished artists and educators Stewart Gordon, Boris Slutsky, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Zoia Kocharskaya, Dennis Thurmond, Dennis Trembly, En Wang and Ren-Jen Wang.
Dr. Jocelyn Hua-Chen Chang joined the music faculty at California State University San Bernardino in 2010 and serves as Director of Keyboard Studies at CSUSB Music Department. She makes her home in Pasadena, California and Taipei, Taiwan.
© 2011 Jocelyn Hua-Chen Chang
BIOGRAPHY
Jocelyn Hua-Chen Chang, Pianist