Yiqi Chen was born December 2007 in Shenzhen, China, began learning the cello at age 7 under the guidance of teacher Gu Enwei. At age 10, he made his debut at the “Cello Family” Cello Festival in Busan, South Korea, where he was hailed as a next-generation prodigy. At 11, he studied with Professor Mingqing Yu (President of the Chinese Musicians Association Cello Society) and was admitted with top honors to the 5th grade of the Central Conservatory of Music Affiliated Primary School in Beijing. At 13, he advanced to the affiliated middle school with the highest scores in his major and maintained first place throughout his studies. At 14, he received a maestro’s recommendation to study at the Gnessin Special Music School in Moscow. In 2023, he studied cello with Professor Ivan Monighetti, and in 2024 he began studies at the Queen Sofía College of Music in Madrid. At 16, he successfully held the “I Artist – My Journey in Learning” music sharing concert and presentation at Shenzhen Poly Theater, where he publicly taught children for the first time.

He is also a resident student at the Liechtenstein Academy of Music. From 2023 to 2025, he was selected through a worldwide audition to attend the Gstaad Music Festival’s string master classes, performing chamber music alongside Professor Ivan Monighetti. In 2024, he was selected for the 28th Morningside Music Bridge in the United States and performed in the event’s highlight concert.

Over his ten years of cello study, Yiqi Chen has received guidance from numerous masters, including Lynn Harrell, Ronald Leonard, Laurence Lesser, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Maciej Kulakowski, Martti Rousi, Philippe Muller, Michel Strauss, Michaela Fukačová, Clara Minhye Kim, Liwei Qin, and Sol Gabetta. Music critics at international competitions have praised his playing: “This young performer not only has a distinctive tone that is crystal-clear and transparent, and extraordinary talent with superb technique, but his playing flows with elegant musical lines completely free of any flashy ornamentation.”

Awards and Competitions
• 2017: Second Prize, Children’s Division, Hong Kong International Music Festival String Competition
• 2019: First Prize, Children’s Division, Ai Qin Prize International Cello Competition
• 2019: Third Prize in the 6th Scholarship Competition at the Central Conservatory of Music Affiliated School (Beijing)
• 2020: First Prize, Youth Cello Division, San Francisco International Innovative Music Competition (USA)
• 2020: First Prize and Special Award for Outstanding Young Talent, Artist Grand Prix International Music Competition (Bonn, Germany)
• 2020: First Prize, International Best Performance Competition for Works by Camille Saint-Saëns (United Kingdom)
• 2020: First Prize and Grand Prix Award, 30th International Young Musicians Competition “City of Barletta” (Italy)
• 2020: Grand Prix, Music Star Award Global Classical Music Competition; invited to record an album with classical label KNS
• 2021: First Place in his category and the Director’s Award of the Gustav Mahler Institute at the 3rd “Gustav Mahler Prize” Cello Competition (Czech Republic)
• 2022: Second Prize (First Prize vacant), 7th Mravinsky International String Competition (Russia)
• 2023: First Place, Moscow Mayor’s Competition in the Field of Culture and Arts
• 2023: Second Prize, Adult Division, 6th Svyatoslav Knushevitsky International Cello Competition
• 2023: Invited to the 15th “VIVA CELLO” International Cello Festival; awarded the “Bright Future” Performance Award; performed at the closing ceremony with cellists Boris Andrianov and Alexander Ramm

Performances and Activities
• Participated in multiple solo, chamber music, and charity performances. Appeared in the recording of CCTV Music Channel’s concert program “Enjoy Music – Sounding East”
• Served as the cellist for the children’s puppet show “Kandinsky on the Beach” (charity project)
• Soloist at the 2023 memorial concert for violin master Oleg Kagan held at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Concert Hall
• Performed on Children’s Day 2025 in the Royal Theatre project “Mini Classics – Discovering Strings,” aimed at providing music education to children
• Interviewed in 2025 by Royal News of Madrid