Austin College to Host Shen-Chang Duo for Musical Performance

SHERMAN, TEXAS – Austin College will welcome Dr. Zexun Shen and Dr. Fenia Chang to campus for a musical performance in Wynne Chapel on Saturday, February 28 at 2 p.m. as part of the Wright Fund Visiting Artists Series. Their program includes works by Janacek, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven. The recital is free and open to the public. 

Zexun (Jason) Shen joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra cello section in 2022. Born in Shanghai, China, he studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Professor Da-Hai Liu and graduated with honors in 2009. In the same year, Shen began his studies with Timothy Eddy at the Mannes College of Music and was awarded a full scholarship and the Goldsmith Foundation Award, allowing him to complete a Bachelor of Music degree in 2013 and a Master of Music degree in 2015. Shen served as the principal cellist of the Mannes Orchestra from 2011 to 2015. After graduation, he completed his professional study with a Dean’s Award under the guidance of Philippe Muller at Manhattan School of Music. He joined the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016, and in May 2021, Shen was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, where he studied with Colin Carr. 

Shen has performed extensively in the U.S. and abroad (including China, Australia, and Poland) as a soloist and chamber musician, playing at venues such as the Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Metropolitan Museum and Morgan Library Museum, and he has taken part in music festivals such as the Sarasota Music Festival, Heifetz International Music Institute (String Quartet Seminar), and the Taos Chamber Music Festival, working with the members of the Borromeo String Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, the Moscow Rachmaninoff Piano Trio, the Guarneri String Quartet and the Orion String Quartet, among others. 

Shen plays on a 1723 Italian cello made by Matteo Goffriller with an 1890 French bow made by Joseph Lamy. The instrument is loaned by an anonymous sponsor, and the bow is made available to Dr. Shen as a gift from a sponsor from Taiwan. 

Born in Taiwan, Fenia Chang began piano study at the age of 7 and made her solo debut at the age of 11, after winning the first Japan Kawai Piano Competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The performance was broadcast on national television in Taiwan. Change holds the bachelor's and master of music degrees from the Juilliard School and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Maryland. Her teachers include pianists Abbey Simon, Russell Sherman, Jerome Lowenthal, Thomas Schumacher, and Santiago Rodriguez. 

Chang appears as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Chamber Orchestra, Irving Symphony Orchestra, the Albuquerque Symphony, New World Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, as well as Dallas Chamber Orchestra. She is a frequent adjudicator at several prominent piano competitions, with recent duties at the TMTA Regional Solo Performance Contest in 2018 & 2025, Collin County Young Artist Concerto Competition in 2016 & 2025, a North Texas Youth Music Competition in Richardson, as well as other international young artist competitions. 

Chang is currently a piano faculty member at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus. She has served as a collaborative pianist at The Juilliard School, University of Texas at Dallas, Southern Methodist University, as well as the piano faculty at East Texas A&M University and Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, pre-professional foundations, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 44 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and an expert faculty of more than 100 educators allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.