Born in Athens, Georgia, American pianist Dr. Belinda Chen gave her first piano recital in 2001 at the age of eight, and has since gone on to perform at venues such as Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington D.C, the Teatro Massimio Vincenzo Bellini in Catania, Italy, the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center in Savannah, GA, and the Osaka International House in Osaka, Japan. She has performed as a soloist with the Bellini Symphony Orchestra in Catania, Italy, and the Frost Symphony Orchestra in Miami, FL.

Dr. Chen is the winner of the 2018 AmicaFest Concerto Competition (Catania, Italy) and the 2017 Frost Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition (Coral Gables, FL). She was also the first prize winner of the Eastside Music Teacher’s Scholarship Competition (2008), the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (2010), and the East shore League Solo and Ensemble Competition (2010). She was named the third prize winner at the 11th annual 1000 Islands International Chopin Competition for Young People (2013), located in Cape Vincent, NY and was a finalist in the 2016 Washington International Piano Festival Competition and the 17th Osaka International Music Competition. She has performed at the Shandalee International Piano Festival (NY), the Northern Lights Music Festival (MN), the Washington International Piano Festival (Washington DC), and the Texas State International Piano Festival (TX).

Dr. Chen completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Alexander Shtarkman. At Peabody, she was the recipient of the Leslie C. Oursler Piano Music Scholarship, the Norman J. and Sarah J. Groves Endowed Scholarship, and the Leo B. Swinderman annual memorial Prize in piano. She completed her Doctorate in Keyboard Performance with a Cognate in Musicology at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music under the guidance of Tian Ying.

Currently residing in Ankara, Turkiye with her husband, Dr. Chen works at the Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts and is also a faculty member of the Chopin Academy of Music. She has adjudicated and given masterclasses for the Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) piano competitions, the Seattle International Piano Festivals, the International AmiCa Fest Piano Competitions, the Florida Federation of Music, and the Oregon State Music Teachers Association. Outside of teaching and performing, Dr. Chen is also a writer and editor. Her articles pertaining to the relationship between music and literature enjoy a vast readership, and she serves as a contributing writer to the journal Which Sinfonia.