She/Her/Hers

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Printed name: Yu Qian (Yu/yoo, Qian/chee-ahn); preferred name is Tracy. Tracy Qian is a pianist, organist, music arranger, collaborative musician, and presenter based in Iowa City, Iowa, where she is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Organ Performance as a recipient of the Dorothy Frawley Fellowship under Dr. Gregory Hand.

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A native of China, Dr. Qian began studying piano at age 4 with her mother, Mrs. Cui. She has toured extensively as both a pianist and organist in the United States, China, Italy, the Netherlands, and streamed her performance of Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Concerto Op. 20 at the International Scriabin 150 Festival. Recently, she was invited to perform on the Müller organ at St. Bavo Church in Haarlem, Netherlands in July 2024. 

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As an active music arranger, she founded a project, “Chinese Music on Organs,” which explores how music typically composed for traditional Chinese instruments can be arranged and reinterpreted for organs. She was invited to perform and present her arrangements from this project at the 2024 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists (AGO 2024 SF) and the Asian Classical Music Initiative International Conference 2022 (ACMI).

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As an advocate for elevating the voices of marginalized and lesser-known composers of organ and piano music, Dr. Qian initiated the project called “Music She Wrote,” where she performs and arranges piano and organ works by female composers for church services or other occasions. Some of her arrangements and research were featured in the American Guild of Organists Young Organists Women Composers Project 2023 and presented at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2023.

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As a passionate educator, Dr. Qian has been teaching for over 12 years. She held a private teaching studio of 15 students in Columbus, Ohio. She also likes to arrange music to customize students' needs and skill levels. Besides teaching, she debuted the research “Musical Trauma and Recovery” at the Ohio University Pedagogy Seminar 2024. This study delves into the musical traumas experienced by students and performers, which often stem from music-related activities and persistently influence their musical journeys. She aims to create a space and community where individuals can share their experiences and traumas caused by some music-related activities and receive the support they need to continue their music lives.

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Dr. Qian holds degrees from the East China Normal University (BA, Music Education) under Dr. Dingyuan Zhang, The Ohio State University (MM and DMA, Piano Performance) under Dr. Caroline Hong, and maintains active memberships in the American Guild of Organists and the Music Teachers National Association.

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