D.M.A. in Piano Performance and Literature – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.M. in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.A. in Piano Performance – Soochow University
B.A. in Music – Soochow University
Professional Affiliations/Organizations: American Liszt Society, College Music Society, Illinois Federation of Music Clubs, and Music Teachers National Association
Pianist, Pei-I Wang is Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at ǿý University in Decatur, Illinois. She has performed in Asia, Europe, and the United States, embracing a wide range of repertoire. She performed as a featured soloist with the Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra, ǿý-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Sangamon Valley Civic Orchestra, Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She received awards in various competitions, such as the Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition, the Vivaldi International Music Competition, the Mauro Paolo Monopoli Prize Asian District Auditions, the UIUC Concerto Competition, the 21st-Century Piano Commission Competition with composer John Ritz, and the Music Talent Bank Competition hosted by Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Arts. Her performances have been broadcast by China Television, WILL FM, WLDS/WEA1 Radio, and Texas Public Radio.
As a keen advocate of contemporary music and rare masterworks, Wang has performed new music at the Midwest Composers Symposium, the Electronic Music Festival at the University of Louisville, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra “Around the Town Concert Series,” San Antonio Composers Alliance series, and the Red Note New Music Festival, among others. Most recently, her recording of Carl Czerny’s four-handed piano fantasies with Dr. Sam Gingher was released in September 2020 under the Naxos label.
Wang is an enthusiastic educator and has worked with students at all levels. Her students garner prizes in the regional and national competitions in both US and Taiwan, including the Hollis Prize, MDSO Concerto/Aria Competition, Talent Among Us Competition, Best of the Day of the Solo/Ensemble Competition, Illinois Federation of Music Clubs State Competition, Illinois Symphony Orchestra Guild Scholarship Audition, Peoria Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Illinois State Music Teachers Association State Competition, Seidl & Sohn International Music Competition, and the Vienna Music Competition.
Wang holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature and Master of Music in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before coming to the United States, she received master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music from the Soochow University in Taiwan majoring in piano performance. She was fortunate to study piano under the tutelages of legendary international piano competition prize winners, Dr. Ian Hobson, Dr. Daming Zhu, and Dr. Rolf-Peter Wille. Her keyboard studies were enriched by studying organ with Dana Robinson and Hsiang-Yu Chen, harpsichord with Dr. Charlotte Mattax Moersch, and accompanying with Dennis Helmrich.
Wang is a frequent adjudicator, performer, clinician, and presenter. During summer, she serves on the piano faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan and the ǿý Piano Camp in Decatur, IL. She is a proud member of several professional organizations, such as Music Teachers National Association, American Liszt Society, College Music Society, and National Federation of Music Clubs. Currently, she serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association, Chair of the ISMTA Competition SOUTH, and President of the Decatur Area Music Teachers Association.
Disciplines: Applied Piano, Class Piano, Preparatory Piano, Keyboard Accompanying/Ensemble, Survey of Piano Literature