Spend any amount of time with Mei-Ann Chen and you'll see, within seconds, the energy that she brings to the conductor's stand when she steps onstage.

Chen's enthusiasm buoyed the SFCM Orchestra into an oversold performance on March 30 in the Conservatory's Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall that ended with a raucous, foot-stomping ovation at its conclusion. The evening also featured the 2022-2023 Conservatory Concerto Competition winner, Parker Van Ostrand, performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

"I was so impressed with the level of students here," Chen says. "They were prepared, attentive and wonderful to work with. I think this is the future; I'm just so stunned by the level of musicianship here." The evening's soloist had similarly kind words for Chen, who was conducting Van Ostrand's first performance of the Rachmaninoff with the orchestra: His winning performance had been for two pianos. "It has been really nice to figure out how to play this with the orchestra. It's very different from a second piano, tougher in a lot of ways, but Mei-Ann Chen was great," Van Ostrand said. "She's super-energetic, helpful, and inspiring. She's very funny, speaks German, and has a ton of comments and stories. What's fun about playing this stuff is it's never the same, there's a big range of what's possible, what can sound good, and she listens very well and is very good at following."

Jason Hainsworth and Mei-Ann Chen.

Aside from the Rachmaninoff, the Orchestra performed Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120, Beethoven's Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62, and Unsuk Chin's subito con forza, the last in keeping with Chen's work at the Chicago Sinfonietta to program composers from diverse backgrounds. Part of Chen's visit at the Conservatory was a talk with SFCM's Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (and Director of Roots, Jazz, and American Music), Jason Hainsworth, where they discussed her work in Chicago, which consistently lands the Sinfonietta on lists of most diverse classical organizations in the U.S. in terms of programming and personnel.

Mei-Ann Chen.

In the talk, Chen spoke movingly of her goals with the group and some of the struggles she faced as a Taiwanese woman in the world of Western classical music. At one point, Chen gave a personal answer to a student's question about facing the prejudices of that world.

"I have thick skin. I just know rejection is part of my journey, so I've raised myself for it. I know I will be in situations that are not comfortable, but it's going to make me stronger. In those situations, I try to rise above it. I'm there to make the music come alive. And if I can do that, then I have done my job." She continued, "We say when people throw you a lemon, you make lemonade. Lemonade is only sweet when you add sugar; so what is sugar in our life? It's positive energy. When we have positive energies, it's amazing how people respond to that. So while we want to all be turned off by unfair treatment, that's negative energy. Bring even more positivity into every negative, and, in my case, people can't ignore my positivity. If a door is closed to you, build a window."

Learn more about SFCM's orchestra and the Conservatory's diversity, equity, and inclusiveness practices.