NATIONALITY:

Chinese - American

Media Applause

“Runs, passage work, and trills sparkle, with not a note out of place.”

— Ionarts

What is a piece of music you return to when you need to remember why you became a musician?

Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, op. 27, no. 1.

It is one of the pieces that stayed with me throughout my

childhood, and I still return to it often. I have always been drawn

to the way the piano’s sound lives in the air — how its textures

and sonorities seem to bloom and travel through space.

What is a work of art that you think more people should know about and why?

Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ

Seeing it in person at the Sansevero Chapel in Naples was one

of those rare experiences that completely stopped me in my

tracks. I remember standing there, just staring, and losing all

sense of time.

How do you unwind after a performance?

A hot meal, a glass of wine, and a little distance from music.

After a performance, I usually want something very simple

and comforting — a hot meal, maybe a glass of wine, and a

chance to come back down emotionally. I actually like to step

away from classical music for the rest of the day and just be a

“person” again instead of being the “artist.”

What is a place in the world that has changed the way you think about sound?

The lakeside landscapes of northern Italy and Switzerland

Whenever I travel to the lakes of northern Italy or Switzerland,

I experience sound differently. The combination of water,

mountains, fresh air, and open space changes the way I listen

and imagine. I hear music there in a way that feels completely

different from hearing it in a practice room.

What is something you’ve learned to do in the last five years that has nothing to do with the piano?

In the past few years, I taught myself how to skate, and I’ve also

learned to cook. Both have been surprisingly meaningful for me.