Chiang was born to a family of musicians; his father was a flautist and his mother a mezzo-soprano and choir director. Chiang discovered his own passion for music early in life, under the mentoring of Dr. & Mrs. Wai-Hong Yip, beginning piano lessons when he was four. As a teenager, he studied violoncello and composition. At the age of 13, he made his first public appearance as a concert pianist with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, in which he was also a cellist from 1994 to 1996 and has been its principal conductor since 2008. He went on to receive his Fellows Diploma in piano performance from the Trinity College of Music London at 16. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Baylor University in the USA, where he studied with the renowned pianist Krassimira Jordan of the Russian piano school and Polish-born Jewish conductor, Daniel Sternberg. He continued his education and obtained a Magister Artium degree with distinction at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna; there, he was a student of German pianist Wolfgang Watzinger and the last student of Leopold Hager, the legendary Austrian conductor who has been recognized for his expertise and authority in his interpretation of Mozart’s music. In 2003, Chiang studied with Seiji Ozawa and appeared at the Rohm Music Festival in Kyoto, Japan upon the maestro’s invitation.

Chiang’s performing career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and conductor has brought him to prestigious stages and festivals across the world. He has performed at the Wiener Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Komischen Oper Berlin, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, FACYL in Spain, and the Macao International Music Festival, among others. In 2016, he became the first artistic director of a newly founded Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival. Chiang brought the festival to its climax by leading the top musicians from both metropoles in a stunning performance of Gustav Mahler’s 8^th Symphony.

Chiang’s foremost passion is opera. From 2007 to 2009, he worked as assistant music director of the Wagner “Ring” cycle at Theater Lübeck; during the summer seasons, he was assistant music director of opera productions at the Eutin Festival. From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal conductor at Theater Freiburg. There, he directed numerous premiere productions, including a howling success of Ligeti’s opera Le Grand Macabre with stage director Calixto Bieito. In 2021, Chiang became the principal guest conductor for the Taranto Opera Festival and has directed several successful opera productions.

Orchestras that Chiang has worked with include the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfonica Castilla e Leon, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and more.

Vienna Boys' Choir is the world's foremost children's choral group. It is also among the oldest of all musical organizations, having been founded pursuant to an Imperial decree of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I on July 7, 1498; the Emperor wished boys' voices to be added to the choir of the Imperial Chapel, or Hofkapelle. This established a tradition of having the boys sing in weekly Sunday masses in the Imperial Chapel of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, a tradition that continues today.

Over the centuries, illustrious composers have written masterpieces for the Boys' Choir of the Imperial Chapel, including Mozart, Bruckner, Gluck, and Schubert. Many great musicians got their start as members of the Boys' Choir; among them were the great conductors Hans Richter, Clemens Krauss, and Lovro von Matacic. During the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the choir became renowned for its secular performances as well, appearing in colorful Imperial-style military uniforms, each complete with a dagger. After World War I, wide popular and governmental disfavor of all things Imperial resulted in the dissolution of many long-standing institutions, including the Imperial Chapel Choir. However, Chaplain Joseph Schnitt remained in his position at the chapel and re-gathered the choir. Sparing no personal expense, he re-established a boarding school for the choristers. He replaced the imperial uniforms with a distinctive sailor-style uniform.

The Vienna Boys' Choir has the most stringent training and admittance policy in the world. Boys wishing to join must first gain entrance to a preparatory school where they receive a complete elementary education. Their instruction includes elements of musical theory, sight-singing, and the practice of singing, and instruction on at least one instrument; at the age of nine, they have to pass an examination based strictly on musical ability and vocal quality. There is no religious requirement. The teaching is purposely intensive in order that their education not be slighted due to the frequent touring. There are usually two choirs away on a tour at any given time, most frequently for three months. They are accompanied by their choirmaster, their tutor, and a nurse. Vienna Choir Boys have visited the United States well in excess of 50 times since 1932 and have traveled to all six inhabited continents. They are beloved the world over for their lively singing style and beautiful tone and have commissioned a number of new works, including Britten's The Golden Vanity.