Background
Yichen Liang is a conductor, pianist and vocal coach whose artistry bridges the worlds of orchestral, operatic, chamber and vocal repertoire.
As a conductor, Liang has collaborated with ensembles ranging from collegiate to professional, including the Spokane Symphony, the Allegra Festival Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, among others. At the University of Minnesota Opera Theatre, he conducted the 2024 production of Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. An avid student of the craft, Liang has refined his skills in masterclasses across the U.S. and Europe with renowned conductors and pedagogues such as Johannes Schlaefli, Nicolás Pasquet and James Lowe.
A dedicated collaborative pianist, Liang is equally at home in both instrumental and vocal repertoire. He was hired as vocal coach for the Spring 2025 production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and as staff pianist for productions including Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Verdi’s Il trovatore at the University of Minnesota Opera Theatre. He has performed extensively with instrumentalists and vocalists in recitals at venues and institutions, including the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, the Schubert Club in St. Paul, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Macalester College, and the University of North Dakota.
Liang is currently completing a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, under Mark Russell Smith, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano and Coaching under Timothy Lovelace. He also holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and a Performer Diploma in Collaborative Piano from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with Edward Auer.