Conductor Mei-Ann Chen has been appointed Director of Orchestral Activities and Chair of the Conducting Program at the Manhattan School of Music, effective July 1, 2026.

In her new role, Chen, who takes over George Manahan, will provide artistic and strategic leadership for the MSM orchestra program, teach and mentor conducting students, and regularly conduct the MSM Symphony Orchestra.

“It is such an honor to join Manhattan School of Music, a globally renowned conservatory, and its esteemed faculty,” said Chen, per an official press release. “Since the beginning of my professional career, I have been an advocate for tomorrow’s artists and the importance of quality education because I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the phenomenal mentors who saw the possibilities I couldn’t see for myself.”

"Lucas Debargue gave a hair-raising version of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 carried by an incandescent ONPL under the vehement and passionate direction of the American-Taiwanese conductor Mei-Ann Chen. ... Her way of literally grabbing the orchestra by soliciting it to the maximum was quite spectacular, with her way of digging the string register into its depth and with a predominance of brass instruments particularly exposed in the two works of the program, as if the conductor wanted to reach the legendary power of American orchestras....
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After the intermission, Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony confirmed Mei-Ann Chen's expressive style on the screen, particularly at ease in this colourful score in which she delivered a powerful breath. With accurate and energetic tempi, she has built this well-known work with persuasive gestures.... The three concerts in Angers, Nantes and La Roche-sur-Yon are sold out, a way of saluting both the program and the presence of the two guests."

"Conductor Mei-Ann Chen, leading the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire for the first time, needed no score to transport everyone to a "New World." It was all in her mind and body; she approached each overture with determination, precision, and brilliance. ... The applause from the audience and the ONPL for this petite woman of immense talent was long, very long. Exhilarating." 

-translation - Le Courrier de l’Ouest