Xiaoruan and liuqin virtuoso of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Section Instructor and Instrumental Class Instructor of the Hong Kong Young Chinese Orchestra, Chen joined the HKCO in 2017. Hailing from Taipei, she holds a Master’s degree in Chinese Music from the NTUA. She began learning the liuqin and ruanxian under Cheng Chui-ping at a young age, and later received further training under Hsu Lun-Chien, Professor Shih De-Yu, Yuen Shi-chun, Su Wen-Qing and Zhang Xinhua. She has been receiving yueqin training in the Peking Opera style under Professor Lui Kwan-on since 2017. She was a multiple winner of liuqin solo at music competitions held in Taipei Municipality and in Taiwan. Her 2011 recording of the liuqin concertos Caprice of Nights and Die Loreley was included in the Taipei Liuqin Ensemble’s album of original works, Beyond the Horizons. The album was nominated for Best Folk Music Album in the 23rd Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music in Taiwan.
Chen has extensive experience on the concert stage, having performed in Fujian, Xiamen, Shandong, Hong Kong and Shanghai. She has premiered a number of original works for the liuqin, including Liu Chih-Hsuan’s Prosper (2014), Die Loreley (2010), Caprice of Nights (2008), and Huang Chen-Nan’s Mi-nong Mountain Township (2011). She was the programme coordinator and player of the xiaoruan and liuqin at the second of the online streaming series, A Musical Feast by HKCO’s ‘Five’, with which she won rave reviews for her delicate and insightful interpretations.
Chen has given many solo recitals in Taiwan, and is frequently invited to perform. Notable occasions in recent years include the liuqin concerto, Beyond the Horizons, at the opening concert of the 2nd China Liuqin Art Show in 2021, where she was also one of the judges; Unrestrained Songs with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, conducted by the Swiss conductor Michel Rochat, in 2019; Song of the Sun and Moon with the Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra, conducted by Liu Chiang-Pin in the same year; and Spring Comes to River Yi with Xia Feiyun and the Shanghai Fei-yun Chinese Orchestra in 2017.
