Memphis Symphony’s Chen to lead Sinfonietta
Chicago Sun-Times
By Bryant Manning
August 4, 2010
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For the first time in its 23-year history, the Chicago Sinfonietta has a new music director.
Mei-Ann Chen, 37, has signed a four-year contract to succeed its visionary founder, Paul Freeman. She will fill the music director’s role beginning with the 2011-12 season.
Freeman, who founded the orchestra in 1987, will conduct his last season this fall.
The energetic, Taiwanese-born Chen will spend eight weeks per year with the Sinfonietta in addition to her responsibilities as music director of the Memphis Sym- phony Orchestra. She will divide that time evenly between conducting and administration.
The latter component is especially important for an organization that emphasizes outreach to musicians and audiences of color.
“I don’t work according to numbers,” Chen said. “To be a truly effective music director, it’s the quality of time you spend with the orchestra and community you serve, and not the quantity.” Chen added that she will make frequent trips to Chicago from Memphis and will be available to the Sinfonietta “much more” than what is stipulated in her contract.
Chen, who moved to the United States in 1989, has an impressive list of conducting mentors: Marin Alsop, Donald Runnicles, Robert Spano and Stefan Sonderling. Sinfonietta executive director Jim Hirsch said these rich experiences and a wonderful rapport with Freeman and the orchestra sealed the deal.
“As it turned it out, some of the other talented conductors we auditioned were still too early in their careers to meet our needs, or too far along. Chen garnered the most support from everybody, including maestro Freeman.”
The international search lasted two years. The committee looked at 25 candidate profiles and whittled them down to eight, who then got to audition. When Hirsch saw Chen in limited rehearsal time last fall, he felt he was witnessing one of the most gifted leaders he’d seen in his life. Under Chen, the orchestra will continue to embrace Freeman’s mission of diversity, educational outreach, inclusion and innovative programming.
Freeman, whose health has declined in recent years, will become conductor emeritus. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to keep Paul involved because of his knowledge of classical music, and classical music as it relates to minority composers and musicians,” Hirsch said. “We will be tapping his expertise as we go forward.”
In May, Chen will guest conduct with Freeman his final concert with the Sinfonietta, scheduled entirely by coincidence last January. What should be a touching farewell will also be the unofficial changing of the guard.
Bryant Manning is a local free-lance writer.
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