Praised as an "amazing young pianist" by Marin Alsop, Chengcheng Yao is quickly establishing herself as one of today's most creative artists. Recent highlights include her performances of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop and with the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra under conductor Timothy Muffitt. She has also performed as a soloist with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and Hebei Symphony Orchestra. Yao has given solo performances at many venues across North America, Asia, and Europe, including Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Laeiszhalle and Steinway Hall in Hamburg, Mozarteum in Salzburg, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Chinese Culture Center and Berlin University of the Arts in Berlin, National Center for the Performing Arts and Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and the University of Toronto.

 

As a dedicated chamber musician, Yao has participated in several music festivals, including the Chautauqua Music Festival in the United States, the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Italy, the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival in Italy, the University of Toronto New Music Festival in Canada, and the Beijing International Piano Festival in China. Her performance experience spans notable venues such as Heliconian Hall in Toronto, Morse Hall at The Juilliard School in New York City, Morse Recital Hall at Yale School of Music in New Haven, the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, among others. Yao has been serving as a coach for the Homewood Chamber Music Seminar at Johns Hopkins University since September 2024.

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Winner of the 2017 Elizabeth Parisot Prize awarded to "outstanding pianists" at Yale School of Music, Yao has won prizes in numerous competitions. Her list of achievements includes First and Special Prize in the 71st Steinway International Piano Competition, First Prize in both the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition in Chautauqua and the Harrison Winter Piano Competition at Peabody Institute, Silver Medals in the 68th Wideman International Piano Competition and the 2016 Young Artist Piano Concerto Competition, Second Prize in the Virtuoso & Belcanto Piano Competition in Italy, and Third Prizes in both the Weatherford College International Piano Competition and the WPTA International Piano Competition.

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Since 2021, Yao has taught piano at the Washington Conservatory of Music, offering individualized lessons focused on musicality, technique, and expression. She was also a Piano Minor Lesson Instructor at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University from 2021 to 2023 and has given masterclasses at both Peabody and the China Conservatory of Music. Previously, as a Secondary Piano Lesson Instructor at the Yale School of Music (2016–2017), she helped students refine their performance skills while integrating music theory and history.

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Yao completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She holds two master's degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale School of Music, where she studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Matti Raekallio, Peter Frankl, and Hung-Kuan Chen. She worked with legendary pianist Leon Fleisher and Yong Hi Moon at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University while pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree.