About Irene Chen
“….Irene Chen, whose superlative musicianship shone through each phrase(Mozart Serenade No. 11 K375 in Eb)... Chen inhabits the world of the consummate professional." Cue, South Africa
Irene Chen is an internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player and is the winner of several competitions, including International Clarinet Association (ICA) Young Artist Competition (2009) held in Porto, Portugal, being the 1st Taiwanese clarinetist to win the prize.
Irene’s playing is said to be ‘warm, sensitive, thoughtful and inspirational’. Recent appearances include the Macau Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, or the BBC Scottish Orchestra.
In 2011 Irene was chosen from thousands of applicants from around the world to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which resulted in a performance at Sydney Opera House under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. She subsequently held orchestral positions as principal clarinet with the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa, Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra in Beijing, China, and the Orchestra Accademia China also in Beijing.
During the years of performing and living in different continents, Irene has absorbed all different cultures into her playing, making her music vivid, colourful, characteristic and alive. She is also keen in playing different style of music, especially in exploring new compositions. Various new works are written for her, including “Valse Bleu” and “Circles” featuring her musicality and creativity in her clarinet playing.
The passion of music and the desire to share the beauty of the arts with people has brought Irene to many places around the world. She has played chamber music with many outstanding musicians such as Dimitri Ashkenazy, Yvonne Lang, the Polaris Quartet, Alison Balsom, Joshua Bell, Andrew Marriner, Jan Vogler, Pedro Franco, or Yulianna Avdeeva.
Irene is a graduate from the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana Lugano, Switzerland, where she obtained a Master’s in Performance, studying with François Benda. At Indiana University, Bloomington, USA, she received a MA studying under Howard Klug.
Irene is also active in teaching. Her teaching credentials include teaching chamber music at the China Conservatory in Beijing, China, the Western Academy of Beijing, and regular masterclasses in her native country of Taiwan.