Pianist Alice Tien is originally from Midland, MI and majored in piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, earning special recognition in collaborative-playing. She also studied at Interlochen and the Aspen School of Music. Alice’s solo and ensemble performances were praised in the Triangle’s Spectator Magazine (January 1996 and circa 1999) and in Classical Voices of North Carolina (October 2007). She has played in master classes given by Menaham Pressler, Yo-Yo Ma, and James Galway (the last two in Hill Hall Auditorium).
Alice has taught her studio of 25-30 private students for over twelve years and has served as a pianist and instructor in the music departments of North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. With the Salvation Army in Durham, and inspired by examples in Raleigh and other cities, Alice co-established a program for children who otherwise could not take individual piano lessons.
In the CHP, Alice plays piano and percussion, and has served as a judge and coordinator for the Young Artist Concerto Competition. An avid gardener, she and her husband won their Durham neighborhood’s “Yard of the Month” prize in July, 2008.