Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director
Chicago Sinfonietta
SCORES TWO Additional SEASONS WITH
MUSIC DIRECTOR MEI-ANN CHEN
CHICAGO
(May 18, 2016)—Chicago Sinfonietta, the nation’s most diverse orchestra dedicated
to pushing artistic boundaries, is proud to announce
Music Director Mei-Ann Chen will continue leading the orchestra
through its 2018-2019 Season, adding two years to her current contract
and insuring her place on the podium for the upcoming 30th Anniversary
season, 2017-2018. Chen
will continue to conduct four out of five subscription concerts each season, as well as special added concerts. Recently named among
Music America’s 2015 Top 30 Influencers, she has served as Music Director of Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011.
Chen’s
charismatic podium presence and innovative programs have resulted in
growing audiences and ticket sales for Sinfonietta, more than doubling
single ticket revenue since 2012 and increasing
subscriptions by 13% in the last 4 years, even at a time when
nationally most orchestras are experiencing a steady decline in
subscription revenue. The first woman to win the prestigious Malko
Competition in 2005, Chen has become one of America's most dynamic
and popular conductors. She is a sought after guest conductor at
orchestras around the world and will soon begin work with the National
Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. During her time as Music Director with
Chicago Sinfonietta, she has received an ASCAP award for
innovative programming and the Helen M. Thompson Award from the League
of American Orchestras.
“We are delighted to announce the extension of Mei-Ann Chen’s contract through the end of the 2018-2019 Season,” said
Maurice Smith, President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and CS Board Chair.
“Mei-Ann has thrilled our audiences since her first season in 2011-2012
and has helped raise the profile of the Chicago Sinfonietta locally and
nationally. Her commitment
to our mission of diversity and inclusion is exemplified by her
groundbreaking work on our Project Inclusion Freeman Conducting
Fellowship program and through her personal support of diverse
musicians, soloists, and composers. Our recent successes are
attributable
in large part to Mei-Ann’s brilliant conducting and programming along
with the great work of our musicians, staff, board, and volunteers. We
look forward to working with Mei-Ann as we celebrate the 30th
Anniversary of the orchestra in 2017-2018 and beyond.”
Some of Chen’s most celebrated concert moments include:
·
A mock “battle of the bands” with Chicago-based punk marching band, Mucca Pazza
·
A re-imagining of
Swan Lake with the internationally renowned hip-hop dance troupe FootworKINGZ
·
The U.S. premiere of Jacob TV’s Martin Luther King video mash-up,
Mountaintop
·
An epic do-it-yourself audience play-along featuring 1,500 audience members joining the orchestra during the
Malambo movement from Ginastera’s Estancia Dances
"At
the age of 10 I dreamed of becoming a symphonic conductor. I wanted to
connect to as many musicians as possible, and be part of an instrument
so incredible and powerful as an orchestra,” stated
Chen. “Never had I imagined that my career path would one day lead me
to such a unique organization like the Chicago Sinfonietta and its
meaningful mission—to champion diversity and work for inclusion through
innovative symphonic programming and the universal
language of music. It is an honor to be a part of this organization.
I
can't think of a more ideal city than Chicago to expand on Maestro
Freeman's pioneering legacy of promoting musicians of diverse
background, especially with the new addition of the Project Inclusion
Freeman Conducting Fellowship. Chicago has such a rich cultural
heritage, and boasts some of the best musical talents in the world.
Through the dedication of our family of terrific musicians, committed
board members, hard-working staff, and an enthusiastic
audience that is growing by the season, the Chicago Sinfonietta will
further secure its unique place locally and nationally as a leader in
diversity for the symphonic world and a jewel among the art scene in
Chicago.”
The Chicago Sinfonietta was recently awarded the prestigious
MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.
The Award recognizes nonprofit organizations who have demonstrated
creativity and impact, and invests in their long-term sustainability
with sizable one-time grants. Chicago Sinfonietta will use its $625,000
MacArthur Award to establish an operating reserve
and to underwrite critical technology upgrades.
About the Sinfonietta
Entering its 29th
season, Chicago Sinfonietta has pushed artistic boundaries to provide
an alternative way of hearing, seeing and thinking about a symphony
orchestra and
is dedicated to promoting diversity, inclusion, racial and cultural
equity in the arts. Each concert experience blends inventive new works
with classical masterworks, each from a diverse array of voices, to
entertain, transform and inspire. In 2016, Chicago
Sinfonietta was the proud recipient of John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation’s prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and
Effective Institutions (MACEI). This award recognizes exceptional
organizations that are key contributors in their fields. Learn
more at www.chicagosinfonietta.org.
About Mei-Ann Chen
Innovation, passionate and dynamism are the hallmarks of conductor Mei-Ann Chen.
Recently
named Artistic Director and Conductor for the 2016 National Taiwan
Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival, and one of Music America’s 2015 Top
30 Influencers, she has served as Music Director
of Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, and of the Memphis Symphony (2010 –
2016) infusing both orchestras with energy, enthusiasm and high-level
music-making, galvanizing their audiences and communities alike. A
sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen’s reputation
as a compelling communicator has resulted in growing popularity with
orchestras both nationally and internationally. Distinguished orchestras
and opera companies with whom she has guested internationally include
Sweden’s Gothenburg Symphony and Norrlands Opera,
the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Austria’s Grosses
Orchester Graz, and Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony and Minas Gerais
Philharmonic, Denmark's Danish National Symphony and other principal
orchestras, Germany’s Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe,
Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic the Netherlands Philharmonic, Norway’s
Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Trondheim Symphony, and Taiwan’s National
Symphony. North American guest engagements include the symphony
orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati,
Colorado, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Nashville, Oregon, Pacific, San
Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the National
Symphony in Washington, D.C., among others.
For more information on Chicago Sinfonietta, please visit
www.chicagosinfonietta.org.
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