Junyan Chen

Appearing as soloist at the Wigmore Hall and KKL Lucerne, and as a concerto soloist at Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, Xiamen Concert Hall, and Takatsuki Gendai Gekjio, Junyan’s performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4 and was live-streamed on Classic FM, conducted by Ed Gardner.

Junyan began her musical journey at Shanghai Middle School, studying with Joanna MacGregor, Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano, at the Royal Academy of Music for her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. In 2023 she was awarded an Academy Bicentenary scholarship and gained her Advanced Diploma in 2024. Engaging in masterclasses with Pascal Rogé, Thomas Kreuzberger, Paul Badura-Skoda, Yevgeny Sudbin, Adrian Brendel and Claudio Martinez, she was the youngest and the only female competitor in the final of the 2018 City of Vigo Piano Competition. Junyan was one of the semi-finalists in the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition and has been selected to compete at both the Leeds and Orléans International Piano Competitions, later this year.

Junyan has collaborated with Hans Abrahamsen on his piano concerto and worked with Mark Anthony-Turnage and Dominic Muldowney at the Folkestone New Music Festival.

Her debut album, It’s Time, was released by Linn Records in 2022, and strongly identifies with living composers exploring cultural identity through music, such as Fazil Say, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina and Eleanor Alberga. It incorporates Turkish folk music, jazz, Russian poetry, and African dance.