Chicago Sinfonietta Announces 4-year Extension of Music Director Mei-Ann Chen's Contract

Chen has held the position since 2011 and has been renewed through to the end of the 2028/29 season

The Board of the Chicago Sinfonietta has voted unanimously to renew the contract of its Music Director Mei-Ann Chen through to the end of the 2028/29 season — adding another four years to her tenure. The 36-year-old first joined the orchestra in 2011 and has made championing diversity, equity, and inclusion a focus of her time there.

The first-prize winner at the 2005 Malko Competition and the winner of the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship (founded by Marin Alsop), Mei-Ann Chen received her undergraduate degree in violin performance from the New England Conservatory — before becoming the first student in the school's history to be awarded simultaneous master's degrees in violin and conducting.

Alongside her position at the Chicago Sinfonietta, Chen has been Chief Conductor of Austria’s Grosses Orchester Graz at Styriarte since Fall 2021 (following two seasons as the orchestra’s first-ever Principal Guest Conductor), making her the first female Asian conductor to hold this position with an Austrian orchestra.

"We are pleased to announce Mei-Ann Chen's continuing collaboration as Music Director of Chicago Sinfonietta," said Jim Weidner and Genhi Givings Bailey, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Board. "From Day One, Maestra Chen has embodied our mission of championing BIPOC artists, women composers, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in her work, both on and off the podium."

"Her work, her support of our musicians, and her creativity have brought both national and international attention to our organization. We are delighted that she will continue to contribute to our mission as we begin our new chapter in our new home."

"I am very honored to continue to build on the wonderful collaboration with Chicago Sinfonietta as we make the historic move into our new home at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University," Chen said.

"Through our distinctive programming championing for underrepresented musicians and our continued efforts highlighting women composers, along with our impactful Freeman Fellowship, which has launched more than a dozen young conductors into the field worldwide, Chicago Sinfonietta has created global ripple effects, changing the way the art of classical music and those who create/perform in this artform are perceived, experienced, and enjoyed."