Conductor Mei-Ann Chen has been appointed Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of the Conducting Program at the Manhattan School of Music, effective July 1, 2026.

In her new role, Chen, who takes over George Manahan, will provide artistic and strategic leadership for the MSM orchestra program, teach and mentor conducting students, and regularly conduct the MSM Symphony Orchestra.

“It is such an honor to join Manhattan School of Music, a globally renowned conservatory, and its esteemed faculty,” said Chen, per an official press release. “Since the beginning of my professional career, I have been an advocate for tomorrow’s artists and the importance of quality education because I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the phenomenal mentors who saw the possibilities I couldn’t see for myself.”

"Lucas Debargue gave a hair-raising version of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 carried by an incandescent ONPL under the vehement and passionate direction of the American-Taiwanese conductor Mei-Ann Chen. ... Her way of literally grabbing the orchestra by soliciting it to the maximum was quite spectacular, with her way of digging the string register into its depth and with a predominance of brass instruments particularly exposed in the two works of the program, as if the conductor wanted to reach the legendary power of American orchestras....
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After the intermission, Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony confirmed Mei-Ann Chen's expressive style on the screen, particularly at ease in this colourful score in which she delivered a powerful breath. With accurate and energetic tempi, she has built this well-known work with persuasive gestures.... The three concerts in Angers, Nantes and La Roche-sur-Yon are sold out, a way of saluting both the program and the presence of the two guests."

"Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, leading the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire for the first time, needed no score to transport everyone to a "New World." It was all in her mind and body; she approached each overture with determination, precision, and brilliance. ... The applause from the audience and the ONPL for this petite woman of immense talent was long, very long. Exhilarating." 

-translation - Le Courrier de l’Ouest 

Renowned international music conservatory Manhattan School of Music (MSM) today announced that acclaimed conductor and educator Mei-Ann Chen will become Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of the Conducting Program. In her new role, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, Ms. Chen will provide strategic and artistic leadership for the MSM orchestra program, teach and mentor conducting students, and regularly conduct the MSM Symphony Orchestra as part of the School’s annual performance season.

Classical Music News

The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) has welcomed the Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen as its new Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of Conducting, effective from July 1, 2026.

"...Conductor Mei-Ann Chen opened the set with Huan-Zhi Li's Spring Festival Overture, the Lunar New Year equivalent of a curtain raiser, immediately warm and recognizable. Along with the music, the projection screen cycled through animated horses, cloud sequences, and multilingual New Year greetings in Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

Chen, a Taiwanese American conductor who has led this program before and visibly loves it, wore a black jacket with deep red cuffs and conducted with the kind of physical energy that makes you feel like she's having more fun than anyone else in the room. She is in fact my favorite guest conductor, always warm and engaging the audience...."

SPRINGFIELD — Women will take center stage at Symphony Hall on Saturday, March 14, when the Springfield Symphony Orchestra presents “Mendelssohn, Gershwin, & A Woman’s Voice.”

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Chen’s passion is to discover hidden gems by women, such as Mendelssohn-Hensel’s “Overture in C major.”

“These are works that deserved to be played yet not in the standard repertoire circulation, especially works by women that have been hidden for a long time,” Chen said, adding that Mendelssohn-Hensel’s only surviving orchestral work is gaining exposure in the symphonic music world after first surfacing in 1994."

Ahead of her February 28 return to  San Francisco Symphony, Mei-Ann Chen speaks with Juliana Tzeng about music. Listen to the interview on the podcast link.

Latest recording on Cedille Records featuring Flutronix and Chicago Sinfonietta

https://youtu.be/wYtkL1W_lXc?si=S9AARP0RuUzi_Bki

"An internationally renowned conductor known for her energetic podium presence, adventurous programming, and commitment to expanding the symphonic repertoire, Mei-Ann Chen has appeared with orchestras across North America, Europe, and Asia, working with ensembles of widely varying traditions and institutional cultures."

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"Chen’s career reflects a balance between interpretive rigor, institutional leadership, and a forward-looking view of the orchestral field, grounded in a belief that symphonic music remains a vital and evolving art form."

Mei-Ann Chen conducts the 2026 edition of Carnegie Hall’s NYO2, “a superbly talented youth orchestra” (New York Classical Review) that shows “a bright future for classical music” (Musical America) on July 30, 2026.

Featuring Gershwin’s beloved An American in Paris, Respighi’s picturesque Pines of Rome and Michael Torke’s Sky, a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist that blends bluegrass and Irish fiddle traditions with classical music with violinist Tessa Lark, the renowned soloist for whom it was originally composed, and whose recording of the piece was Grammy-nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo.

"The Chicago Sinfonietta is known for crafting eclectic programs with music from diverse composers, but Saturday’s concert at the Studebaker Theater took this approach to another level, globetrotting from the Indian subcontinent to East Asia to France and back. 

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"Chicago Sinfonietta music director Mei-Ann Chen took the podium for the second half, which paid homage to her roots with the orchestra and continued on the theme of East meets West. Tyzen Hsiao’s lushly lyrical The Angel from Formosa began the second half. Hsiao wrote the short orchestral elegy as a tribute to Taiwan, whose Portuguese name, “Formosa,” means “beautiful island.”

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"e returned to India with Reena Esmail’s Teen Murti, which sets three Hindustani ragas within the context of a piece for Western string orchestra. Meaning “three statues,” the work depicts a trio of musical figures, each drawn from a different raga. 

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While it might seem a strange choice at first, Ravel’s Mother Goose proved a nice foil to the other selections on the program, particularly in its nod to the East in the third movement, “Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas.” Chen led the Sinfonietta enthusiastically throughout the suite, bringing Ravel’s masterful orchestral coloring to the foreground.

Ending the evening was An-Lun Huang’s Saibei Dance—the first piece Chen ever conducted with the Sinfonietta. Akin to a Chinese Carmen excerpt mixed with the cinematic writing of John Williams, the piece provided an exuberant close to the colorful program."

"The orchestra was conducted by the Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen and much of the specialness of the performance was also down to her and the JPO players. From the first notes to the last, the soloist, conductor and orchestra were clearly listening to each other closely and forged a superb musical integration.

Her bright presence brought Schumann’s Fourth Symphony as vividly to life as the concerto had been."

Chen will conduct opening night on October 11 and a concert in March.

Learn more at Springfield Symphony.

Taiwanese American conductor and New England Conservatory alumna and trustee Mei-Ann Chen was named today by New England Conservatory (NEC) as the recipient of the Marylou Speaker Churchill Award. The award acknowledges a teacher and orchestral figure who “reflects Churchill’s qualities as a human being, educator, and musician.” Churchill, who served as a NEC College and Preparatory program faculty member for 28 years and as Boston Symphony Orchestra's principal second violinist for 23 years, was one of Chen’s first teachers in the United States.

Born in Taiwan, Maestra Chen came to the United States to study violin at Walnut Hill High School for the Arts.. Chen received a violin performance undergraduate degree from New England Conservatory and then became the first student in New England Conservatory’s history to be awarded double master’s degrees simultaneously in both violin and conducting.

Chen will be in Boston on Saturday, March 22, to receive the award. During her visit, she will lead a rehearsal with the Preparatory String Orchestra and Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and will also participate in a conversation moderated by Tonya Robles, NEC's Vice President of Expanded Education.

 Click title above for News section  link to NEC's announcement.

"Led by music director Mei-Ann Chen, Friday’s concert drew a large turnout, including many families with children (as well as several vocal infants and restive near-infants brought by overindulgent parents).

The program, titled “Reverb,” showed the Sinfonietta at its best with an adventurous, well-balanced lineup of music, including two engaging works by living composers and a long-neglected symphony."

It’s a statement that an upper-midwestern orchestra and this community of Historically Black Colleges can welcome each other, learn from each other, and feel at home together.

"The Chicago Sinfonietta upheld one of its integral annual customs despite Sunday’s frigid temperatures, presenting its Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville. In keeping with tradition, the matinee program centered on works by black American composers, this year featuring works by Scott Joplin, Xavier Foley, and Margaret Bonds.oncerto for contrabass, heard here in its Chicagoland debut.

"Sinfonietta music director Mei-Ann Chen offered her ebullient advocacy both in extolling the works’ virtue and through her dedicated, enthusiastic conducting—none more so than in Xavier Foley’s “Victory” Concerto for contrabass, heard here in its Chicagoland debut. "-Chicago Classical Review

"Chen has since established a celebrated conducting career and is in demand internationally across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. But her primary post is with the Chicago Sinfonietta; she has served as the orchestra’s music director since 2011, and her contract was recently extended through ​​the end of the 2028-2029 season."

Watch the interview!

"But the best was yet to come. Beethoven's Fourth Symphony is somewhat neglected in comparison to its neighbours, the Eroica Symphony (No. 3) and the famous Fifth Symphony. Nevertheless, in the hands of a conductor like Mei-Ann Chen, this symphony sounds glorious. Chen is a highly communicative conductor. ... The audience was spellbound throughout. ... Overall, this was the happiest concert of the  season."

我們想讓你知道的是: 2021年，台灣指揮家陳美安，正式獲聘為奧地利施第利亞格拉茲創藝樂團為期五年的首席指揮，也是首位獲得奧地利交響樂團聘約的女性亞裔指揮，在樂壇締造自己的新里程碑，成為台灣音樂學子心目中的嚮往之光。而這名指揮家，經過何種歷練才能夠有今日的成績？

「為了夢想，你可以付出多少努力？」

"We've been hearing about numerous identified and unidentified flying objects in recent weeks... But until now, not a word about the meteor that struck the Knight Theater in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. Her name is Mei-Ann Chen.... Chen's impact on - and appeal to - the Symphony's musicians and subscribers was nothing short of electric."

"...the music, while of varying qualities, had such an extravagance of inspiration, such pitch perfect artistry (led by the great Mei Ann Chen), and such imagination, that one wanted to yell out, “Stop! Let’s hear this again! Let’s catch our breath.”

Music director Mei-Ann Chen and the Sinfonietta landed one of their most sensitive supporting performances in recent memory in Sierra’s concerto.

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But there were further heights still to come, like Chen and Sinfonietta’s crisp, striding account of Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.” Chen, who tends to fire on all cylinders early on and stay there in extroverted rep, reined in the majestic final movement so the orchestra didn’t fully crest until the piece’s end. The payoff was sublime, as were inner-movement solos by principal clarinetist Leslie Grimm and English hornist June Matayoshi.