Education
Tianyuan earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. Tianyuan also pursued a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at Peabody and has completed all requirements except the dissertation (ABD).
As a Performer
Tianyuan made his concerto debut in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and has since performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Torun Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in works by Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Saint-Saëns.
As a soloist, Tianyuan premiered Prof. Aaron Kernis’s Sky Music as part of Yale University’s New Music New Haven concert series and has performed across the United States, China, and Europe, including in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Rochester, New Haven, Shanghai, Beijing, Bydgoszcz, and Kyiv.
Tianyuan has received top honors at numerous international and national competitions, including Second Prize at the International Sviatoslav Richter Piano Competition and First Prize at the Yale Gordon Competition and the PianoArts North American Competition. At PianoArts, Tianyuan also received awards for Best Performance of a Work by J.S. Bach and Best Performance of a North American Work. Additional honors include First Prize at the Isidor Bajic Piano Competition and Second Prizes at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz and the International Volodimir Krainev Competition for Young Pianists.
At Levine
Tianyuan joined the piano faculty in 2026.
I enjoy being part of a community where music brings people of all ages and backgrounds together. It’s especially rewarding to see students grow in confidence, explore their own musical ideas, and find joy in playing the piano. The warmth and enthusiasm of the Levine community make that experience all the more meaningful.
Teaching Philosophy
I prioritize building a healthy, robust technical foundation through efficient, tension-free movement, freeing students to focus on music-making. As students advance, my focus shifts toward developing educated musical taste and independent musical literacy through exposure to a wide variety of styles, genres, and historical contexts. At every level, I encourage students to form personal connections with the music and make their own interpretative decisions, giving them the tools to become mature, discerning lovers of music with their own voices.