Biography
Susan Yang is a pianist, educator, and arts advocate whose career spans performance, teaching, leadership, and community engagement. Praised as a “magnificent pianist” who “offers compelling insight” (Fanfare Magazine) and for her “breathtaking performance…executed with extreme mastery and precision” (Music City Review), Yang has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad.
As a performer, Yang has collaborated with orchestras including the Nashville, Ann Arbor, and Delta Symphonies, presenting repertoire ranging from Clara Schumann and Florence Price to Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. Her performances are often shaped by an interest in expanding the musical canon and connecting audiences with both established and lesser-known voices. This commitment is reflected in her solo album, DOORWAYS: Half-Remembered Music, a project exploring artistic inspiration across cultures, eras, and traditions.
Yang serves as Assistant Professor of the Practice in Piano at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, where she teaches piano, chamber music, and pedagogy. She also serves as Faculty Director of Vanderbilt’s Community Scholars Program, overseeing programming, mentorship, and educational initiatives that support student success and community building.
In addition to her work at Vanderbilt, Yang is co-founder of A Seat at the Piano (ASAP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of historically marginalized composers through educational resources, interviews, and advocacy. She has also served in leadership roles with the Nashville Area Music Teachers Association, the Nashville Chamber Music Society, and the BIPOC Advisory Board of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and currently serves on the board of the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville.
A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Award, Yang is a frequent presenter and adjudicator whose work has been featured by national arts and educational organizations. In 2024, she was appointed Mandarin Translator for the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, supporting the organization’s international outreach efforts.
Yang holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Vanderbilt University and is currently pursuing an MBA in Arts Innovation through the Global Leaders Institute.
