Santa Rosa Symphony to welcome conductor candidate Mei-Ann Chen

Conductor Mei-Ann Chen is no stranger to the Bay Area classical music scene.

For the past four or five years, Chen has led the San Francisco Symphony in its annual Lunar New Year concert, relying on her extensive knowledge of the Asian repertoire.

In January 2016, she served as a guest conductor for the Santa Rosa Symphony, where she led An-Lun Huang’s festive “Saibei Dance” along with works by Dvorak and Tchaikovsky.

That concert made a positive impression on symphony musicians and subscribers alike. So it was not surprising when the symphony announced last fall that Chen had been chosen as one of five conductor finalists to audition for a chance to succeed Music Director Bruno Ferrandis.

After her first orchestra rehearsal as a violinist at age 10, Chen said she ran home to tell her parents she wanted to be a conductor. Since then, she has single-mindedly pursued her “impossible dream,” teaching herself conducting when she could not find a teacher.

“I was a stubborn little girl,” she said. “I wanted to play the largest instrument in the room … so I memorized all my parts and fixed my eyes on the conductor.”

Born in Taiwan, Chen studied music in Taipei and was ready to enter college when she was granted an audition with well-known British conductor Benjamin Zander, who was leading the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic on a tour of Asia. After hearing her play, Zander offered her a scholarship to the New England Conservatory. She received a double master’s degree in conducting and violin from the conservatory, then went on to get a doctor of music arts in conducting from the University of Michigan.

From 2002 to 2007, Chen served as the Music Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon, then was appointed assistant conductor of the Atlanta and Baltimore symphonies. From 2010 to 2016, she served as music director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011, she has led the Chicago Sinfonietta and spends half the year guest conducting all over the world.

First responders

This weekend, all eyes will be on Chen as she returns to the Santa Rosa Symphony podium to lead Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Armenian pianist Nareh Arghamanyan, Jennifer’s Higdon’s “blue cathedral” and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian.” The symphony has dedicated its 90th season to the first responders and those who have lost homes in the wildfires and will provide free tickets for the remaining concerts to both groups.

Here is the edited version of our interview with Chen, who was named one of Musical America’s 2015 Top 30 Influencers.

What will the symphony musicians enjoy about working with you?

I like to think of the symphony orchestra as an enlarged chamber group. I grew up as a violinist ... so I really view the musicians as my fellow musicians who are making chamber music with me. I hope that they feel inspired. It is daunting to have a unified interpretation between 60 to 80 musicians ... They are not just there to follow my directions. We make the music together.

What ideas do you have to engage and grow the audience here, and can you give an example of what you’ve already done with other orchestras?

What we have learned in Chicago is that sometimes the audience may not know they enjoy certain things. So you have to build that trust. If you talk about fate, you’ve got Beethoven No. 5, Tchaikovsky No. 4, but there may be other works they may not know and love and enjoy. So I try to build in audience engagement with the concert theme.

We did a really out-side-the-box program in Chicago, collaborating with a wonderful marching band called Mucca Pazza (Mad Cow), and we created a battle of the bands program. In addition, before and during intermission and post-concert, we created a battle of the beers to tie into something that’s very specific to the region. It might get people really curious about what the symphony is doing.

Everybody knows Dvorak’s New World Symphony, which was inspired by ... spiritual, gospels and Native American music. The world premiere was 1893 in Carnegie Hall. After the slow movement, the whole audience in Carnegie applauded nonstop for several minutes. So I brought in a youth choir and gospel choir to sing spirituals between the movements, before and after the slow movement ... It is a risk to interrupt the music. But in both Memphis and Chicago, the audience had four standing ovations, because the spirituals were so moving, and it gives you a deeper appreciation of those melodies. I think what the audience informed me is that it’s very educational for them to put things in context.

Grow audience

In symphonic engagement, if you don’t grow your audience, you are decreasing your audience ... the Chicago Sinfonietta is one of the few orchestras in the country that is growing. When we did Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloé,” it was with a video suite by an astronomer, José Francisco Salgado. Recently, we did a 10-year-anniversary program with his work, and it included a movement from Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” where he showcased a video he made called “Around the Earth in 90 Minutes.” And he created a video for Holst’s “Planets.” That was one of our most attended concerts, because the whole family came, with kids ranging from very young to high school and college.

What is your programming philosophy and how do you plan to keep concerts exciting for everyone?

I would listen to your community. I don’t want to assume I know Santa Rosa ... Can we commission a piece that is quintessential to Sonoma County and capture that in a multi-media way that other orchestras could play?

Programming is very much like designing a menu. It has to be balanced. It has to be visual as well as tasteful. And it has to work with each other. We have what we call the meat-and-potato portion of our repertoire - some of the old masters that stand the time of time - those are absolutely core not only to the health of our musicians’ artistry, but as an important part of drawing in audience who grew up hearing this repertoire.

Dvorak’s New World Symphony is an old work, but how can we shine a new light on it? We can also create a narrative and a connection. You’ve got to make it digestible but enjoyable and in some way thought-provoking.

Where do you see classical music going in the future, and how would you take this orchestra in that direction?

ReflectThe important word is relevance. When it doesn’t reflect our community, it’s going to lose its appeal. And relevance depends on what is relevant to Santa Rosa. Not every program has to have more educational components, but every program has to be a discovery of something. It’s about how to attract people who are curious and want to talk about the symphony. That has a very direct impact on your ticket sales and on how well the orchestra is going to thrive.

Three performances

You already have an incredible community, in terms of support for the symphony ... you have really amazing support, coming in for three performances, with all three almost packed. Keep cultivating it and make sure it’s an accessible art form for as many people and age groups as possible.

Why do you want to come to Sonoma County, and how much time can you spend here?

Of course I had heard about the county and the wine before my first visit. But it was nothing compared to when I was actually there ... It was shocking how good everything was, not just the food but the quality of life there. I would move there in a heartbeat. I love Chicago, but I started my career in the Pacific Northwest, and I miss that part of the country in terms of getting close to nature, and protecting nature and the environment.

I would be based out of your area because there’s another side ... it’s so much closer to Asia. I could take a direct flight to Taiwan, and it’s only 11 or 12 hours, vs. 16 or more from Chicago.

You are a violinist. What other instruments do you play and how does that experience serve you in your role as a conductor?

If you look at the orchestra, the number of string musicians is likely to be over half, so being able to speak string language is very helpful ... they know I can push for string colors that may be very unique.

That’s not to say I didn’t take up other instruments. I knew I wanted to be a conductor at age 10, so I took classes with the wind, percussion and brass instruments. I grew up in the orchestra and feel very much at home.

When I see myself disappear, in the sense that we are all onstage, moving and making music, smiling at each other, that’s really beautiful ... I call it the circle of energy. For me, it is about being the music. We are trying to be that music, whether it’s sad or joyful or shocking or telling a story. We are the embodiment of the sound.

Conducting is your favorite thing. What is your second favorite thing?

No question. It’s detective novels ... there’s a lot of parallels between studying a score and solving a crime. The composers left clues for us to figure out their piece. It’s solving the puzzle and the mystery.

Artistic voice

Can you talk about the program you’ll be leading?

I wanted to create a very interesting, four-piece program that is a journey. In the first half, both composers (Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky) are trying to find their artistic voice. The Shostakovich was a commission for the October revolution, and it was modelled after Glinka’s Overture to “Ludmilla,” which was important. I just loved this piece.

In the second half, Jennifer’s “blue cathedral” is one of the most performed contemporary works ... I have championed her works, and this one has never been done in Santa Rosa.

And then there’s Mendelssohn’s “Italian” symphony ... It’s really interesting for me to see this cross-cultural German capturing the Italian spirit. He had a very short life and was fortunate to travel in his early 20s, and that’s where a lot of his inspiration came from ... he has a special place in my repertoire.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.