By Carol Tannenhauser

Two years ago, at the age of 23, Chun Ying Chiang traveled from Taiwan to New York City to study musical theater at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy – AMDA – on West 61^st street and Amsterdam Avenue.

Coming from one of the most densely populated places on Earth, Chun Ying loved the “vibe”of the Upper West Side. “I lived on 67^th and Columbus in the apartment of a Taiwanese friend,” she said. “Everything felt so leisurely and free and positive. You feel like you are with people, but it’s not crowded. You don’t feel suffocated.” She pressed her hands to her heart and sighed. “I wish I could never leave.”

But leave she must in March, when she graduates from AMDA and her student visa expires. “If I want to stay, I have to apply for a working visa,” she said. “That’s why I really need to build my resume, fight for the chance to stay here.”

And, so, she made a bold move. She produced a concert, starring…herself.

“This is not only my solo debut in New York City, but on this planet,” she told a packed house last Sunday afternoon at The Triad, a small, but revered off-Broadway theater club on West 72^nd street. Accompanied by Issac Harlan on piano, Chun Ying then sang 16 Cole Porter songs, in a performance that was lively, witty, soulful, and sultry, sometimes beyond her years.

Chun Ying chose Cole Porter because he appeals to what her voice teacher and advisor, Christian Fletcher, called her “old soul.” “I love the old music,” she said, “but I’m also a young woman, trying really hard to learn from life, from music, from love.”

Where will she perform next?

“I wish I knew,” she said. “I wish I knew. The audition season is going to start very soon, so I’m going on a lot of auditions. But I’m ‘non equity,’ which means I may or may not be seen.”

Our guess is she will be; she’s got grit. She showed it when she came to AMDA to learn to sing. “My parents met in their college choir, so I came out singing,” she laughed. “And we always sang together, but I had never been formally trained. I cried all through the process,” she said. “Sometimes singing makes me feel very defeated, because I want to be a better singer, but it takes time. I think I am a little too hard on myself sometimes. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to know and accept who I am, because who you are reflects on how your voice sounds.”

Chun Ying is currently living on 126^th street and Morningside Drive. “I need to save,” she said. “My parents support me.”

Some things are universal.

Photos by Carol Tannenhauser.