Chelsea Chen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chelsea Chen has electrified audiences throughout the United States and Asia in venues such as Singapore's Esplanade, Hong Kong's Cultural Centre, Los Angeles's Disney Hall, and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center. As a composer she is broadening the classical organ repertoire with her own works based on Asian folksongs.

 

Ms. Chen recorded her debut CD and DVD, "Live at Heinz Chapel," on the Heinz Chapel organ at the 2005 Convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders. Her playing has since been aired on CNN.com, "Pipedreams" from American Public Media, Hawaii Public Radio, and Taiwan's Good News Radio.

 

In 2006 Ms. Chen was featured at both the AGO Region IX Conclave in Las Vegas and the AGO National Convention in Chicago. In addition, she has soloed with the Juilliard Percussion Orchestra in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and with the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra in Colorado. She premiered to great success her own "Taiwanese Suite" (2003) and "Taiwan Tableaux" (2007) at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, and has premiered several works by Juilliard composers, Teddy Niedermaier and Ola Gjeilo, and Yale composer, Jordan Kuspa. In collaboration with harpist, Arielle, Duo Mango has championed new works by Paul Desenne, Yui Kitamura, and Roderick Gorby.

 

In 2009 Ms. Chen received the Lili Boulanger Award, awarded annually to one young musician exhibiting unusual talent and promise for the future. At Yale, she also received the Robert Baker, Hugh Porter, and Charles Ives prizes. And at Juilliard, she received the John Erskine Prize for scholastic and artistic distinction. Ms. Chen has taken first prizes in competitions including the 2005 Augustana/Reuter National Undergraduate organ competition, the 2003 Region IX AGO RCYO competition, and the 2005 Musical Merit Foundation competition. In 2006, she was an Aspen Music Festival full scholarship recipient for piano.

 

Originally from San Diego, California, Ms. Chen studied piano from a young age with Jane Bastien and Lori Bastien Vickers. At fifteen she began organ lessons with Leslie Robb, and later with Monte Maxwell. She went on to study with John Weaver and Paul Jacobs at Juilliard, receiving both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in the Accelerated program. The following year she composed and performed in Taiwan as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.

 

In 2009, she graduated with the Artist Diploma from Yale University under the tutelage of Thomas Murray. Since September she has been serving as Artist-in-Residence at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.