Mei-Ann Chen knew that she wanted to be a conductor at the age of ten. But the path to becoming a professional conductor is not an easy one. Yet, her mentors, and her persistence and genuine passion for music opened the doors for her conducting career and now, she is "repaying the favor" by helping young conductors and promoting new music by contemporary composers. The current music director of the Memphis Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Chen helped launch the career of the KSO's very own Aram Demirjian by hosting an international conducting competition in Memphis.
A sought-after guest conductor, Mei-Ann will lead the Knoxville Symphony in a performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, featuring concertmaster William Shaub as soloist. Also on the challenging program is the fiendishly difficult "Too Hot Toccata" by Aaron Jay Kernis, the "Wise Virgins Suite" by William Walton (based on music by J.S. Bach), and Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis."
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra performs at the beautiful Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville on March 14th and 15th at 7:30pm. More information at www.knoxvillesymphony.com
