Mei-Ann Chen

Taiwanese-American Conductor

Mei-Ann Chen (b. 1973) is a Taiwanese-American conductor and musician, a music director of The Memphis Symphony (since 2010) and Chicago Sinfonietta (since 2011). Chen manifested a bright music talent since the early childhood, studying violin and piano and teaching herself to play trumpet as well. Mei-Ann attended a preparatory Walnut Hill School (affiliated with the New England Conservatory) and continued her undergraduate and degree studies at the New England Conservatory Of Music. She became the first New England alumni to receive a double Master's degree in conducting and violin. Mei-Ann Chen obtained a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University Of Michigan. She is the first woman who won the Malko International Conductors Competition. In 2002, Mei Chen became a fourth conductor of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. During her five-year tenure, the orchestra debuted at Carnegie Hall, earned an ASCAP award in 2004, and established collaboration with Chamber Music Northwest and Oregon Symphony. Chen served as an assistant conductor of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in 2003–05, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2007, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2009–10). Throughout her career, Mei-Ann has appeared as a guest conductor with over twenty state Symphonies in the USA and Canada, as well as BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kringkastingsorkestret, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, and Trondheim Symfoniorkester.