About
She/Her/Hers
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 Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Qian holds degrees from The Ohio State University (MM and DMA, Piano Performance) and the University of Iowa (MA, Organ Performance). She is honored to be a recipient of the OHS Biggs Scholars Program from 2025 to 2028.
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.
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).
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.
Dr. Qian was invited to present at AGOYOLive25: 1st Annual Virtual Conference, on the topic "Protecting Organists: Injury Prevention and Hearing Health." Her article "Save It or Lose It: Hearing Health for Organists" was featured in The American Organists issue April, 2026.
As a passionate educator, Dr. Qian has been teaching for over 14 years. She held a private teaching studio of 15 students in Columbus, Ohio. She also likes to arrange music to customize to students' needs and skill levels. Besides teaching, she debuted the research “Musical Trauma and Recovery” at the Ohio University Pedagogy Seminar 2024, and later at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025. 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.
Dr. Qian maintains active memberships in the American Guild of Organists and the Music Teachers National Association.