Biography

Taiwanese American conductor Mei-Ann Chen has been music director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, with a contract now extended through the 2028–29 season. She is also chief conductor of Austria’s Recreation Orchestra at the Styriarte festival, artistic advisor of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony, the first-ever artistic partner of Houston’s ROCO, and artistic partner with the Northwest Sinfonietta. Former posts include artistic director of the National Taiwan Symphony Summer Festival and music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Chen was named conductor laureate of the Memphis Symphony after serving as music director from 2010–16.

Chen’s 2025–26 season includes debuts with Seoul Philharmonic, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, Orchestra National des Pays de la Loire, Madrid Orchestra and Choir, Brazil’s Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra. She also returns to the Chicago Symphony, Liechtenstein Symphony, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, and National Taiwan Symphony for multiple programs during its 80th anniversary season.

Chen has made recordings for Cedille Records, Innova Records, and Naxos. A passionate advocate for music education, she is a visiting scholar at the National Taiwan Normal University. She dedicates significant time in mentoring young conductors through various programs, including the Chicago Sinfonietta Freeman Conducting Fellowship program and the Taki Alsop Fellowship, and conducts ensembles at major educational institutions around the world. In March 2025, Chen received the Marylou Speaker Churchill Award from her alma mater, New England Conservatory of Music, named for her violin teacher. Past honors include being named a Top 30 Influencer by Musical America, the Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras, the Taki Concordia Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop, and the 2005 first prize at the Malko Competition. She made her San Francisco Symphony debut in February 2013.