Renowned Conductor Works With Arcadia High Students

The technology and media that color teens’ lives often move at warp speed, but when nationally acclaimed conductor Mei-Ann Chen came to Thursday, orchestra students were invited to experience the craft of slowing down.

Chen is currently music director of both the Memphis Symphony and Chicago Sinfoietta and will guest conduct the Pasadena Symphony on Saturday.  She began her career working with the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon and takes special pleasure in working with young musicians.

“I love working with kids,” she said. “For me it’s not work. It comes from the heart.”

Even if the students don’t end up pursuing a career in music, Chen believes the discipline and teamwork they develop as musicians will apply to whatever field they select.

In Thursday’s class at Arcadia High School, Chen made sure the students took time to think about more than just the notes they were playing.  The students were working on Maurice Ravel’s “The Enchanted Garden,” and Chen helped them see that the piece was a love story.

“What’s a thrill about working with young people is they don’t hold back. They give you everything they have in their heart and that’s so beautiful,” she said.

Chen also spent time working with students on technical aspects of playing. She helped them with bow and instrument positioning and then placed special emphasis on speed and control.

 “I know young people always want to play something fast,” Chen told the students. “But do you know what’s really difficult and proves your musicianship like an Olympian? It’s the slow music. It’s not how fast and loud you can play, but how soft and low.”

She then challenged the students to play a slow bow where they played one note as long as they could. The class lasted 45 seconds.

Arcadia High School Orchestra Director Pin Chen (no relation) saw a lot of growth in her students during Mei-Ann Chen’s brief visit. Mei-Ann Chen’s techniques helped the students with the challenges of playing “The Enchanted Garden.”

“I think she helped a lot in getting them to mature and take things a little more slowly and enjoying the music for what it is – which is very difficult for teenagers because they just want to blow through everything very quickly,” Pin Chen said.

Ninth-grader Calvin Chiang thought it was just going to be an ordinary day, but had fun during the lesson and especially appreciated Mei-Ann Chen’s message on slowing down. 

Another ninth-grader, Hanna Moon, said she really enjoyed Mei-Ann Chen’s visit.

“I feel like everyone found what they really can do and what they can make out of themselves and their music career,” Moon said.

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