Taiwan-born violist Chieh-I (Candy) Yang is an international orchestral and chamber musician who values the importance of being an ambassador to audiences in many roles as a storyteller and traveler’s guide in the concert hall.

Candy began her musical studies on the violin but discovered her true passion for music at age 14, when she was introduced to the viola. After just one year of playing, she traveled to Vienna as an exchange student to study at the Musikgymnasium. During her time there, Candy performed with the Musikgymnasium Symphony Orchestra at the Wiener Musikverein. Immersed in a city filled with students from around the world, she gained a profound understanding of music’s transformative power on herself and others. Upon returning to Taiwan, she continued her viola studies under the guidance of Dr. Yi-Wen Chao.

Candy has performed with numerous orchestras. From 2016 to 2022, she performed with the Juilliard Orchestra, and from 2022 to 2025, she appeared regularly with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, where she served as principal viola. In 2020, she won a viola position with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and performed two concerts per week throughout the 2020–21 season.

Candy has also participated and performed in many festivals including Taipei Music Academy and Festival (2020). In 2019, as a New Horizon fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, she served as assistant principal viola in the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra.   

Candy is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the Nelly Walter Scholarship and the C.V. Starr Scholarship from The Juilliard School. In 2018, she was honored with the prestigious International Pacing Art Culture Education Rising Star Award. In 2025, she graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with the Helen Cohn Award, presented in recognition of her excellence as a Doctor of Musical Arts student.

Candy earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2020, studying under Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Matthew Lipman. She continued at Juilliard for her Master of Music degree, graduating in 2022 after studying with Heidi Castleman and Samuel Rhodes. In 2025, she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied viola under Samuel Rhodes and completed her doctoral thesis under the advisement of Dr. Jeffrey Langford.