I-Jen Fang

I-Jen Fang is an Associate Professor of Timpani and Percussion in the Department of Music at the University of Virginia, where she has been a faculty member since 2005. She also serves as the Principal Timpanist and Percussionist of the Charlottesville Symphony, actively contributing to both academic and performance communities.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Percussion Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, a Master of Music from Northwestern University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas, where she served as a teaching fellow.

I-Jen Fang is recognized as an 'intrepid percussionist' and is deeply committed to contemporary and new music. She directed the UVA New Music Ensemble for 14 years, collaborating with prominent artists and composers such as George Lewis, Claire Chase, Philip Glass, and Christian Wolff. Her performance interests extend to gamelan, particularly the Gamelan Gender Wayang, studied under I Ketut Madri in Bali, and she has performed at PASIC on this instrument. She is a founding member of the Piedmont Duo with Ayn Balija, exploring the sonic possibilities of viola and percussion, with recent performances in Hungary and Brazil.

As a performer, she has appeared internationally in Taiwan, the U.S., Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and South Africa, and has been featured as a marimba soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony. She has performed at major festivals including the Staunton Music Festival, Wintergreen Festival, SEAMUS Conference, and Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC).

She is an artist for Innovative Percussion, Marimba One, and Sabian Cymbals, reflecting her professional standing in the percussion community.

Throughout her career, I-Jen Fang has commissioned and premiered works by numerous composers, including Judith Shatin, Ed Smith, and D.J. Sparr, demonstrating her leadership in expanding the contemporary percussion repertoire.