Pei-An Chao is a cellist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and a member of the artist faculty at the Brevard Music Center in the summers. A native of Taiwan, Pei-An immigrated to the United States at age 12 with her family where she received her musical training in New York and later in San Francisco on cello and piano. After completing her graduate studies, she was a member of the New World Symphony prior to joining the CSO. Pei-An is one of the cellists in the UCelli Cello Quartet and was formerly with the Cygnus String Quartet. With UCelli, they have performed over 20 pieces written specifically for the group. As an active chamber musician, she appears regularly on the Sunday at Central concert series in Columbus. She has also performed in other chamber music festivals around the country such as Music on the Hill in Rhode Island and the Ariel concert series in St. Louis. As a diverse musician, enjoying music from different eras, she has performed with Early Music in Columbus as well as advocating for contemporary music, performing with the Central Ohio Discovery Ensemble. Her teaching includes positions at Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein University and Ohio University over the years. She has a private studio of students and she coaches Columbus Symphony Orchestra’s youth orchestras regularly. Outside of her musical life, Pei-An enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and doing jigsaw puzzles.