One of the most dynamic young conductors in America, Mei-Ann Chen has recently completed her first season as Music Director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. During this time, the impact of her energy, enthusiasm and high level of music-making has already been felt by the orchestra, audiences and entire community. This June, she also assumed the music directorship of the Chicago Sinfonietta, only the second person to hold this position.
In great demand as a guest conductor, Ms. Chen has appeared with the symphonies of Alabama, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Edmonton (Canada), Florida, Fort Worth, Honolulu, National (Washington, DC), Oregon, Pacific, Phoenix, Princeton, Seattle, Toronto, and the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra. Worldwide engagements include all the principal Danish orchestras, BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Graz Symphony, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, and the Trondheim Symphony. During the 2011-12 season, she will debut with the symphonies of Jacksonville, Naples, Nashville, Pasadena, Sarasota, as well as the National Symphony of Mexico and the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
The first woman to win the Malko Competition (2005), Ms. Chen has served as Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Symphony, and has recently completed highly successful tenures as Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony and Baltimore Symphony; these two positions were sponsored by the League of American Orchestras. Recipient of the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship, she has appeared jointly with Marin Alsop and Stefan Sanderling in highly acclaimed subscription concerts with the Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Florida Orchestra.
In 2002, Ms. Chen was unanimously selected as Music Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon, the oldest of its kind and the model for many of the youth orchestras in the United States. During her five-year tenure with the orchestra, she led its sold-out debut in Carnegie Hall, received an ASCAP award for innovative programming, and developed new and unique musicianship programs for the orchestra’s members. She was honored with a Sunburst Award from Young Audiences for her contribution to music education.
Born in Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen has lived in the United States since 1989. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Michigan, where she was a student of Kenneth Kiesler. Prior to that, she was the first student in New England Conservatory’s history to receive master’s degrees, simultaneously, in both violin and conducting. Ms. Chen also participated in the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. and the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen.
Mei-Ann Chen will be the Guest Conductor for the ROCO In Concert performance on October 22 & 23, conducting Gerald Finzi’s Let Us Garlands Bring, Martinu’s Toccata e due canzone, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, and a surprise piece.
Original biography source here.
Read about Mei-Ann Chen’s visit to Houston for the Texas Music Festival last year on Culturemap.