Conductor Mei-Ann Chen announced as first Artistic Partner of Houston's River Oaks Chamber Orchestra beginning 2019-2020

 

North American guesting credits include appearances with the Symphony Orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, National, Nashville, Oregon, Pacific, River Oaks Chamber, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver, to name a few. Overseas guesting credits include the symphonies of BBC Scottish, Denmark's National, Aalborg, Aarhus, and Odense, Sweden's Gavle, Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Malmo, and Norrkoping, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Norwegian Radio and Trondheim Symphony, Finland's Tampere Philharmonic, Austria's recreation-Grosses Orchester Graz, Germany's Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, Brazil's Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, and Taiwan Philharmonic, National Taiwan and Taipei Symphony Orchestras. Her U.S. summer music festival credits include Aspen, Grant Park, Grand Teton, Ravinia, Texas, and Wintergreen.

 

Recent engagement highlights include debuts and return engagements with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Gala program with Lang Lang), San Francisco Symphony, and Sweden's Malmo Symphony Orchestra, Denmark's Copenhagen Philharmonic (7-city tour), Norway's Oslo Philharmonic, Canada's Symphony Nova Scotia and Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Asheville Symphony, Switzerland's Sinfonieorchester Basel, Vienna's Tonkunstler-Orchester at Grafenegg Festival, and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra's debut US Tour, including its debut as the first Taiwanese orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Upcoming engagements include Turkey's Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrasi, the Oslo Philharmonic, Malmo Symphony Orchestra, a return (in April 2019) to recreation-Grosses Orchester Graz and Chicago Sinfonietta and Knoxville Symphony.

 

Recognized as someone who has redefined the orchestra experience, Ms. Chen's honors and awards include being named one of the 2015 Top 30 Influencers by Musical America, (the bible of the performing arts industry); a 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras; Winner, the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship; and First Prize Winner, the prestigious Malko Competition in 2005. Ms. Chen is the recipient of several ASCAP awards for innovative programming during her tenure as the Music Director of Chicago Sinfonietta and Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon (2002 - 2007). Ms. Chen is also Conductor Laureate of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, having served as Music Director from 2010 to 2016.

 

Born in Taiwan, Mei-Ann Chen came to the United States to study violin in 1989 and became the first student in New England Conservatory's history to receive master's degrees simultaneously in both violin and conducting. She later studied with Kenneth Kiesler at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting. Ms. Chen participated in the National Conductor Preview, National Conducting Institute, Aspen American Academy of Conducting, and Pierre Monteux School.

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) is a dynamic and innovative professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 players from all over the US and Canada, with guest artists from around the world. Performing intimate concerts in dozens of venues, ROCO's musicians don't just give concerts - they challenge preconceptions, create extraordinary experiences, and foster new relationships with audiences through the language of music.

 

Expanding the repertoire, ROCO has premiered over 65 commissions from living American composers. ROCO embraces technology, with free worldwide concert livestreams and real-time artist commentary via a smartphone app, as well as on-demand recordings of past concerts via the Listening Room. A vital part of the community, ROCO concert DVDs are sent to nursing homes and hospitals to bring music to those immobile communities, and their music education/childcare program attracts multigenerational audiences.