Southern California native Yiqun Chen is a saxophonist and pedagogue in both the concert and jazz idioms. He has taught and performed throughout the United States and internationally, with appearances in Japan, China, Belgium and Croatia. As a proponent of saxophone performance and pedagogy, Dr. Chen performs regularly at both regional and national conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance as well as the United States Navy Band Saxophone Symposium.
He has been a featured soloist with the University of Iowa Concert Band, Hong Kong Youth Saxophone Choir and La Prima Vera Youth Symphony Orchestra based in Orange County, CA.
Dr. Chen received a BM from California State University Long Beach, an MAT from the University of Southern California and DMA from the University of Iowa. He serves as Instructor of Jazz Studies and Saxophone at South Dakota State University.
His primary teachers include Kenneth Tse, Damani Phillips, Leo Potts, Jay Mason, James Barrera, Rusty Higgins and Christopher Charbonneau. He has also worked with world-renowned saxophonists Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Timothy McAllister, Otis Murphy and Douglas Masek. In the jazz idiom, Dr. Chen has shared the stage with many artists, including Dan Higgins, Sal Lozano, Wayne Bergeron, Tom Kubis, Dick Oatts, Alex Iles, Ron Stout, Bob McChesney and Felipe Salas.
Dr. Chen is a D'Addario Woodwinds Artist and Yamaha Performing Artist.
