Chelsea Chen (born December 30, 1983, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

) is an internationally-renowned American organist and composer. Chen has been successful in establishing a concert career in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. She has composed several original compositions, and has adapted music ranging from major classical repertoire to video game soundtracks to Taiwanese folk songs for the organ and other instruments.

Education and career

Chen began piano studies at a young age, studying with Jane Smisor Bastien and Lori Bastien Vickers. At age 15, she began studying organ, first with Leslie Robb, and later with Monte Maxwell, Chapel Organist for the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. After only two years of lessons, she was accepted into the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, where she studied first with John Weaver and then with Paul Jacobs, completing her undergraduate degree in 2005 and her graduate degree in 2006. In 2006, she was accepted for a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

and spent the next year composing and performing in Taiwan, where she played an important role in increasing exposure to the pipe organ in that country. In 2007, she was accepted into the Artist Diploma program at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where she studied with Thomas Murray. She performs a wide-ranging repertoire, and in addition to works from the standard repertory, she has premiered both her own compositions and works of fellow Juilliard composers, such as Teddy Niedermaier and

Ola Gjeilo Ola Gjeilo ( , ; born May 5, 1978) is a Norwegians, Norwegian composer and pianist in the United States. He writes choir, choral music, and has written for piano and concert band, wind symphony, publishing through Walton Music, Edition Peters, ...

. Chen has been the recipient of numerous awards. In 2003, she won the Region IX regional convention of the

American Guild of Organists The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educa ...

. In 2004, she made it to the final round of the Augustana/Reuter National Organ Undergraduate Competition, returning next year to win first place. While at Juilliard, she was awarded the John Erskine Prize for scholastic and artistic distinction. In 2005, she recorded her first CD and DVD at

Heinz Chapel Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms Historic district (United States), National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh ...

in Pittsburgh. In 2004 and 2006, she was invited to perform at the AGO National Conventions in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In addition to her academic studies, she maintains a busy performing career both in the United States and abroad. She has recently performed in San Diego, Dallas, New York, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, among other places. Notable upcoming performances include her debut at the

Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

in Los Angeles, and a performance of

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

's "La Nativite du Seigneur" at Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. From 2013-2017, Chen was Organist- and Artist-in-Residence at

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is a Christian church within the Presbyterian Church in America located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was founded in 1960 by D. James Kennedy (1930–2007), who served as the church's senior pastor until shor ...

in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to her role as organist, Chen also directed the annual Concert Series at the church. She currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York City.

Footnotes

External links

Chelsea Chen WebsiteChelsea Chen Recordings and Sheet Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Chelsea 1983 births Living people American organists American women organists Composers for pipe organ Musicians from San Diego 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American organists 21st-century American keyboardists American women keyboardists