About Vivian

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Vivian Chang is a pianist, educator, and arts leader whose work connects performance, teaching, and community engagement. A core member of Boston’s Chameleon Arts Ensemble for more than 25 years, she has also served for over a decade as Piano Lead for Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard.

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As Program Director of Adamant Music School (2025–2026), Vivian recruited leading piano faculty from around the world and helped double enrollment and nearly triple revenue in a single year. Through her work as a Juilliard Visiting Artist and with Chameleon, she has contributed to educational programming for Boston and New York City public schools. During the pandemic, her studio’s online programs brought together more than 40 artists and 200 students for musical learning and collaboration.

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Vivian’s commitment to accessible music education includes developing programs for children with special educational needs, work recognized with the Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Award. A dedicated mentor, she has guided students who have gained admission to leading universities, many continuing their musical studies alongside other academic interests.

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Her performing career has taken her to the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and concert stages across Europe and Asia. She holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and bachelor’s degrees in piano and violin performance from Oberlin College-Conservatory.

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Teaching and Educational Leadership

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Vivian serves as Artist Faculty for Juilliard’s K–12 Department and has been Piano Lead for Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard for more than 10 years. As founder of Vivian Chang Studios, she leads a piano program serving students throughout the Washington, DC, area, across the United States, and internationally, including India and Thailand.

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Her teaching extends beyond individual lessons to workshops, performances, and opportunities to learn directly from guest artists. During the pandemic, the studio’s online offerings engaged more than 40 artists and 200 students. Today, it continues to offer both virtual and in-person programs. Vivian has also recorded educational programming for Boston and New York City public schools.

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As Program Director of Adamant Music School (2025–2026), Vivian recruited internationally recognized piano faculty and helped the school double enrollment and nearly triple revenue within one year. Previously, as Piano Chair at Pixical (2020–2022), she helped build a new music education program, hiring and training 25 piano faculty members and enrolling more than 350 piano students.

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Vivian has been invited to speak about networking and entrepreneurship at Oberlin Conservatory and Brigham Young University’s School of Music. At the University of South Carolina School of Music, she evaluated student grant proposals and helped select award recipients. She also contributes to special projects for Juilliard’s K–12 program, including the “Ask the Musician” series, and serves as an adjudicator for its annual Global Stage Competition

 

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Performance

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Vivian made her solo debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at age 16. For more than 25 years, she has been a core member of Boston’s ASCAP/NEA award-winning Chameleon Arts Ensemble.

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As a collaborative pianist, she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Alice Tully Hall, the Museum of Modern Art, and Taiwan’s National Hall, as well as in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

 

For nearly a decade, Vivian served as a staff pianist at Juilliard, where she also played for entrance auditions. She has served as an official pianist for numerous competitions and auditions, including Artists International of Europe. Her collaborations with singers include tours and performances presented by the Marilyn Horne Foundation. In 2016 and 2019, she was an artist-in-residence at Monteverdi in Tuscany, Italy.

Based in the Washington, DC, area, Vivian maintains an active freelance career and performs as pianist with Paragon Pops and as both pianist and first violinist with the NIH Philharmonia Orchestra.

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Community Engagement and Accessibility

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Vivian is committed to making music a welcoming and accessible part of community life, particularly for children with special educational needs and their families.

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In 2016, the Westchester Jewish Council recognized her with the Julian Y. Bernstein Distinguished Service Award for developing interactive music programs for children with special needs and their families. While living in New York, she also served on committees connecting families with community resources.

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In 2018, Vivian began collaborating with the music therapy department at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC, to pilot group music classes for children with special educational needs. From 2017 to 2020, she performed regularly for patients and families at the Safra Family Lodge and the Children’s Inn on the National Institutes of Health campus.

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Education​

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Vivian earned her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees at The Juilliard School, studying with Samuel Sanders, Jonathan Feldman, and Albert Fuller.

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As the recipient of the first Citibank–Juilliard Stipendium and the Huntington Beebe Award, she pursued further training in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig, as a vocal coach at the Leipzig Opera House, and with pianist Phillip Moll in Berlin.

 

At Oberlin College-Conservatory, Vivian earned degrees in piano and violin performance and was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda. She received the Conservatory Dean’s Talent Award and the Faculty Prize in Accompanying. Her teachers included Joseph Schwartz in piano, Stephen Clapp in violin, Robert McDonald in chamber music, and Jeanne Kierman Fischer and Phil Highfill in collaborative piano. She also served as a teaching assistant in music theory and keyboard skills under Allan Cadwallader.

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Additional study at New York University’s Summer Kodály Institute included vocal pedagogy, choral conducting, and Kodály methodology, with a focus on teaching school-aged students. Her training in Stanley Greenspan’s Floortime approach continues to inform her teaching.

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Testimonials

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You have truly taught me the power of sincerity, dedication, and the courage it takes to unabashedly sprint for my goals. These are lessons I will keep with me in all walks of life. (Student)

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Before my daughter started lessons with you, I had to help her with the piano practice everyday and she was often frustrated. Now, she is so independent and can practice by herself! And naturally, she really enjoys playing piano. We can't be happier!  (Parent)

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Your positivity, energy, and love of music come through in every interaction.  (Colleague 2023)

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My daughter learns so much from you and not just musically. Poise, presentation, public speaking, problem solving.... (Parent)

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