Violinist Anna da Silva Chen Appointed to Australian Chamber Orchestra

Chen previously served as the ensemble's Emerging Artist in 2022

The Australian violinist Anna da Silva Chen has been appointed to a permanent position with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). Chen first joined the ensemble as an Emerging Artist in 2022, and is the third player, alongside Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba and Tim Yu, to be appointed to the ACO this year.

One of Australia's leading violinists, Chen has made concerto appearances with the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Adelaide, Queensland, Tasmania, and Canberra. In 2024, she was featured as soloist in the Australian premiere of Max Reger’s Violin Concerto with Concerto Arcana.

Chen made her German debut in 2020 with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, toured Spain as a soloist with the SCM Wind Symphony Orchestra, and led a performance of Ligeti’s Melodien at the Chigiana International Festival in Italy.

A dedicated chamber player, she is a founding member of the Alma Moodie Quartet. She has also performed as a guest violinist with the Australia Ensemble, Omega Ensemble, Australia Piano Quartet, Ensemble Q, and Selby & Friends.

By the age of 15, she had won Australia’s Kendall National Violin Competition, the National Youth Concerto Competition, Fine Music FM’s Young Virtuoso Award, and had been a semi-finalist in the Menuhin International Violin Competition.

She studied with Robin Wilson in the Sydney Conservatorium’s Rising Stars program before completing undergraduate studies with Alice Waten and graduate studies with Mihaela Martin in Cologne, Germany.

Chen has been a laureate of the Vienna and Gisborne International Music Competitions, and was selected for the Carl Nielsen International Competition.