Bio

Dr. Chia-Ying Hsu is the founder, conductor, and instructor of the Harper College Youth String Orchestra, the Chicago Tzu-Chi String Orchestra, and the Avian Formosa Trio. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays, teaches, and improvises on the violin, viola, and piano. Dr. Hsu has gained notable recognition as the winner of the Padova International Music Competition in Italy and has secured first place in several music competitions in Taiwan. In 2005, she was invited by the Chicago Suzuki Organization to perform at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall. In 2007, she received the Exemplary Performance Award from the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA). Her live performances have been broadcast on Italian Web Radio TEM (Taukay Edizioni Musicali) and WFMT 98.7, Chicago's Fine Arts and Classical Radio Station, as well as on Chicago Cable Channel 25.

In addition to her work in classical music, Dr. Hsu specializes in contemporary music performances. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on viola and electroacoustic music. She has premiered numerous works for solo violin and viola alongside electronic music, utilizing a five-string electric violin. Several composers, including Christopher Adler (U.S.), Lars Carlsson (Sweden), and Tsai-Yun Huang (Taiwan), have dedicated solo viola pieces to her.

Dr. Hsu has performed with various ensembles, such as Violent Femmes, Gene Coleman’s Noamnesia, MAVerick, and the Millennium Chamber Players. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master's degree from Freiburg Conservatory of Music in Germany, and a diploma from the University of Music & Arts in Graz, Austria. Previously, she taught at DePaul University and Saint Xavier University, and she currently teaches at Harper College. Since 2004, she has served as a judge for IMEA orchestra auditions and has been a member of the music faculty at the OPUS Chamber Music Camp.

Her students have achieved remarkable success, winning first place in Chicago-based music competitions, including the Licata Memorial Contest, Illinois Music Association Contest, and Granquist Competition. Additionally, her students have excelled in international online competitions, such as the International BTHVN WIEN Competition (Vienna, Austria), the International Artists Competition (Vienna, Austria), the Global Musical Arts Concerto Competition (Southern California, USA), the Amadeus International Music Awards (Salzburg, Austria), the Royal Maas International Music Competition (Budapest, Hungary), the New York International Music Competition (New York, USA), the Virtuoso International Music Awards (London, UK), the International Youth Music Competitions (Atlanta, GA), and the London Young Musician Competition (London, UK). Many of her students have also been accepted as concertmasters for prestigious ensembles, including the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (Preparatory Strings and Debut Orchestra), the Schaumburg Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra at the University of Illinois, and the All-State and Honors Orchestra of the Illinois Music Education Association.

In 2024, Dr. Hsu founded the Avian Formosa Trio with her children, Vincent and Annabelle Lan, and has been conducting her summer music camp since then.