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Ariel Chien is a sixteen-year-old sophomore at Menlo-Atherton High School. She began piano studies at the age of 8 with Megan Chen and continued with Daniel Cheng. She currently studies with Sandra Wright Shen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. Ariel is a second-year scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation of the United States. She is the prize-winner of numerous piano competitions, including honorable mention of 2023 MTAC Concerto Competition, the 2022 Marilyn Mindell Piano Concerto Competition, 2022 US Open Music Competition, 2021 San Jose International Piano Competition, 2018, 2019 and 2020 USIMC Young Artist Award, and 2019 Los Angeles Young Musician International Competition. As the winner of the GSYO Piano Concerto Competition, Ariel performed with the Camilla Kolchinsky Orchestra in the 2022-23 season. Ariel was invited and performed at an opening concert by San Francisco Symphony Silicon Valley League in 2022 summer and the 2018 and 2019 USIMC winner concerts and 2019 USIMC fundraising concert. Ariel participated in the Young Performers Program at Music@Menlo and Piano Texas International Festival and Academy in the summer of 2022. She has performed in masterclasses with great pianists, including Yuja Wang, John Perry, Ann Schein, Sasha Starcevich, Ning An, Ory Shihor, and Christopher O’Riley. In addition to her music studies, Ariel enjoys playing table tennis and listening to music.