{"id":184786,"date":"2026-04-03T19:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/184786\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:49:35","slug":"manhattan-school-of-music-appoints-director-of-orchestral-activities-and-chair-of-conducting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/184786\/","title":{"rendered":"Manhattan School of Music Appoints Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of Conducting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) has welcomed the Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen as its new Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of Conducting, effective from July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Chen succeeds George Manahan, who announced his retirement from the role last December after a landmark 55-year tenure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In her new role, Chen will teach MSM\u2019s conducting students and regularly conduct the MSM Symphony Orchestra, where she will also provide strategic and artistic leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chen has led 160 major orchestras across the globe, including in the U.S., where she has conducted the San Francisco and Chicago Symphony Orchestras; and in Europe and Asia, where she has led the BBC Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, and many more.<\/p>\n

Since 2011, she has served as Music Director of the Chicago Sinfonietta, and from 2021, she began her tenure as Chief Conductor of Austria\u2019s Recreation \u2013 Grosses Orchester Graz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chen is also Artistic Advisor of Massachusetts\u2019s Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Partner of Houston\u2019s ROCO, and of Washington\u2019s Northwest Sinfonietta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As an educator, she has mentored participants in the Chicago Sinfonietta Freeman Conducting Fellowship program and the Taki Alsop Fellowship. Her discography is featured on Cedille Records, Innova Records, and Naxos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to announce this appointment and are looking forward to welcoming Mei-Ann on campus in a few short months,\u201d said<\/a> MSM Executive Vice President and Provost Joyce Griggs. \u201cMei-Ann has led the MSM Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions \u2014 as recently as last October \u2014 so she has already proven herself a strong fit with the School and its tradition of providing both a forum for artistic excellence and a nurturing, supportive learning environment. Her leadership will contribute to shaping a cohesive, pedagogically grounded vision for MSM\u2019s orchestral experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome Mei-Ann to MSM in this important role,\u201d added MSM Dean of Instrumental Studies and Orchestral Performance JT Kane. \u201cI\u2019ve had the privilege of working with Mei-Ann over many years, and she is an extraordinary artist whose musicianship, leadership, and commitment to mentorship have inspired musicians and audiences around the world \u2026 Our students will benefit tremendously from her insight, energy, and the experience she brings both to the podium and the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such an honor to join Manhattan School of Music, a globally renowned conservatory, and its esteemed faculty,\u201d Chen shared. \u201cThe MSM Community creates the ideal balance between world-class prestige and kindest incubator. It is a dream combination and a rarity among top music schools. Since the beginning of my professional career, I have been an advocate for tomorrow\u2019s artists and the importance of quality education because I would not be where I am today if it weren\u2019t for the phenomenal mentors who saw the possibilities I couldn\u2019t see for myself. I am thrilled to have the chance to pay it forward by adding to MSM\u2019s tremendous impact in our evolving industry and contributing to the artistic growth of the next generation as they refine their unique creative voices!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) has welcomed the Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen as its new Director of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-184786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}