Born in 1953 in Guangzhou, China, she is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music & Dance and recipient of the Ives Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In her music, Yi Chen blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. She holds a MA in music composition from the Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing, and a DMA from Columbia University in the City of New York. Her composition teachers were Wu Zuqiang, Chou Wen-chung, and Mario Davidovsky. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005.
Her music has been commissioned by such artists and institutions by as Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, Cleveland Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Seattle, Pacific and Singapore Symphony Orchestras, Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Rascher Sax Quartet & Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Her compositions have been published by Theodore Presser Company and recorded on many labels, including Bis, New Albion, CRI, Teldec, Telarc, Albany, New World, Naxos, Quartz, Delos, Angel, Bridge, Nimbus, KIC, and China Record Co. In 1986, Yi Chen was the first woman in China to obtain a degree in composition. In the same year a concert of her orchestral works performed by the Central Philharmonic of China was held in Beijing. She was also the first woman to give a multimedia orchestral concert in the US (in May 1996, during her three-year residency with the Women’s Philharmonic and Chanticleer, supported by the Meet The Composer programme). The China National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus gave two concerts dedicated entirely to her orchestral and choral works (2001 and 2008). She is a Visiting Professor at the Central Conservatoire of Music in Beijing (since 2006) and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Tianjin Conservatoire (since 2012).

Major works: Three Poems from the Song Dynasty for choir (1985), Symphony no. 1 (1986), Overture for Chinese Instruments Orchestra (1989), Overture for Chinese Instruments Orchestra no. 2 (1990), Suite for Traditional Chinese Instruments Ensemble (1991), Piano Concerto (1992), Sparkle for ensemble (1992), Symphony no. 2 (1993), Linear for orchestra (1994), Tang Poems, cantata for choir and chamber orchestra (1995), Chinese Myths, cantata for choir and orchestra (1996), Fiddle Suite for huqin and orchestra (1997), Golden Flute for flute and orchestra (1997), Eleanor’s Gift for cello and orchestra (1998), Momentum for orchestra (1998), Concerto for Percussion (1998), Sound of the Five for cello and string quartet (1998), Chinese Folk Dance Suite for orchestra (2001), Ba Yin for saxophone quartet and string orchestra (2001), Chinese Fables for erhu, pipa, cello and percussion (2002), At the Kansas City Chinese New Year Concert for string quartet (2002), Ballad, Dance and Fantasy for orchestra (2003), Caramoor’s Summer for orchestra (2003), ...Like a Ranging Fire... for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2002), Ancient Chinese Dances for clarinet and piano (2004), Happy Rain in Spring Night for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2004), Suite for Cello and Wind Ensemble (2004), Symphony no. 3 (2004), Ancient Dances for pipa and percussion (2005), Si Ji (Four Seasons) for orchestra (2005), Spring in Dresden for violin and orchestra (2005), Tibetan Tunes for violin, cello and piano (2006), Ancient Beauty for dizi/xun, erhu, pipa, zheng and string orchestra (2006), China West Suite for two pianos (2007), Suite from China West for wind orchestra (2007), Tunes from my Home for violin, cello and piano (2007-8), Ancient Chinese Beauty for recorder and string orchestra (2008), Concerto for Reeds for oboe, sheng and chamber orchestra (2008), From the Path of Beauty for choir and string quartet (2008), Rhyme of Fire / Olympic Fire for orchestra (2008), Septet for erhu, pipa, percussion and saxophone quartet (2008), Prelude and Fugue for orchestra (2009), Dragon Rhyme for orchestra (2010), Wind for wind ensemble (2010), The Soulful and the Perpetual for saxophone and piano (2012), Suite for Viola and Wind Ensemble (2013), Not Alone for saxophone quartet (2014).