Jiayi Guo is a 20-year-old Hong Kong–born pianist, composer, and bandleader currently completing her studies in jazz piano performance and composition at Berklee College of Music, where she is a member of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.
Originally a classically trained pianist, Guo was a consecutive award winner in the 2010 Hong Kong International 200th Anniversary of Chopin Youth Piano Competition. After moving to the US, she performed solo piano at Carnegie Hall in 2016 as a winner of the 13th Annual American Arts Festival Competition. Soon after, Guo discovered her passion for jazz, improvisation, and composition, setting a new course for her artistic journey. She has studied under esteemed musicians including Kris Davis, Francisco Mela, Yoko Miwa, and Utar Artun.
Raised in a family of traditional Chinese folk musicians, Guo’s musical voice is rooted in global influence. She intertwines contemporary and traditional jazz with avant-garde and traditional Chinese music to create a sound that is both expansive and personal.
As a composer and arranger, Guo is highly versatile—writing for small jazz combos as well as large orchestral commissions. In 2023, she arranged jazz standards for the Orquestra Chinesa de Macau, reimagining them for a traditional Chinese instrument orchestra. Her arrangement work also includes “Suona and Trumpet with Orchestra,” performed by her father, renowned suona virtuoso Yazhi Guo, alongside trumpeter Dr. Alexander Freund and the International Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in late 2024.
As a bandleader, Guo has brought her musical groups to stages across Boston, including performances at the International Boston Asian Music Festival (2021–2024), Harvard CAMLab, the Mad Monkfish, the PostUnderground, and Coolidge Corner Theatre.