Artist Bios

Mei-Ann Chen

guest conductor

Praised for her dynamic, passionate conducting style, Taiwanese American conductor Mei-Ann Chen is acclaimed for infusing orchestras with energy, enthusiasm, and highlevel music-making, galvanizing audiences and communities alike. Music Director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, Ms. Chen has been Chief Conductor of Austria’s Grosses Orchester Graz at Styriarte since fall 2021, making her the first female Asian conductor to hold this position with an Austrian orchestra. She continues as the first-ever Artistic Partner of Houston’s ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra), a post she was named to in 2019. She begins her new role as Artistic Partner with Washington state’s Northwest Sinfonietta this fall. Highly regarded as a compelling communicator and an innovative leader both on and off the podium, and a sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen continues to expand her relationships with orchestras worldwide (over 120 orchestras to date).

Maestra Chen’s upcoming 2022-23 season engagements include debuts with Germany’s Staatsorchester Darmstadt, Orchestra national Capitole Toulouse (her France debut), and in the US with the Rochester and Buffalo philharmonic orchestras, and the Hawaii Symphony. Return guest engagements in the United States include the American Composers Orchestra, in a program presented by Carnegie Hall featuring Mark Adama’s Last Year (NY premiere) and two world premieres: a Carnegie Hall co-commission by Yvette Janine Jackson, and one by Inti Figgis-Vizeuta, as well as California’s Pacific Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and in Sweden with Norrlandsoperan.

Recent guesting highlights include England’s BBC Symphony in London, Finland’s Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, Norway’s Oslo Philharmonic and Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Het Residentie Orkest in The Netherlands, Malmö and Norrlandsoperan in Sweden, Taiwan Philharmonic, Spain’s Basque National Orchestra, Austria’s Tonkünstler-Orchester, Finland’s

Radiophilharmonie Hanover, Sweden’s Gävle and Helsingborg Symphonies, Switzerland’s Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra at Weiwuying (the world’s largest performing arts center since 2018), in addition to US return engagements with the San Francisco, Atlanta, Detroit, Pacific, and Toledo symphonies.

As Music Director of Chicago Sinfonietta, Ms. Chen has made two recordings for Cedille Records: Project W - Works by Diverse Women Composers (March 2019) and Delights and Dances (June 2013). In 2018, Innova Records released River Oaks Chamber Orchestra’s debut album ROCO: Visions Take Flight, featuring 5 commissioned contemporary works conducted by Ms. Chen.

Honors include being named one of the 2015 Top 30 Influencers by Musical America; the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras; Winner, the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop; and 2005 First Prize Winner of the Malko Competition (she remains as the only woman in the competition history since 1965 to have won First Prize), and ASCAP awards for innovative programming.

Born in Taiwan, Ms. Chen came to the United States to study violin in 1989 and became the first student in New England Conservatory’s history to receive master’s degrees simultaneously in both violin and conducting, and she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting at the University of Michigan.

Calin Ovidiu Lupanu

violin

Born in Timisoara, Romania, violinist Calin Ovidiu Lupanu is the Concertmaster of the Charlotte Symphony. Mr. Lupanu completed his undergraduate studies at the Music Academy in Bucharest, where he served as Concertmaster of the conservatory’s Chamber Orchestra. During his summers as a student, Mr. Calin Lupanu performed in festival orchestras in Lanciano, Italy as Assistant Concertmaster and the Young Soloists Orchestra “Fiori Rari” in Lugano, Switzerland as Concertmaster. Upon graduation, Mr. Lupanu was appointed Violin Professor at the Music Academy.

While in Bucharest, Lupanu joined the newly formed Lipatti String Quartet as first violin, continuing in that capacity for ten years. In 1995 the quartet was named Quartet-inResidence at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where Lupanu earned a Performance Certificate in Chamber Music, studying with Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, and the members of the Fine Arts String Quartet. During its studies at UWM, the quartet was featured as Ensemblein-Residence with the Pabst Theater. Prize winners at the London International String Quartet Competition, the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Dmitri Shostakovich Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Lipatti Quartet was invited by the Dmitri Shostakovich Foundation to participate in the celebration of the 90 th anniversary of the composer’s birth with a performance at the Opera Comique in Paris, France. In 1997, the Quartet became Quartet-in-Residence at Northern Illinois University, working with the renowned Vermeer Quartet. While there, Lupanu completed his Master’s Degree and earned a Performance Certificate, studying with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Mathias Tacke. Additionally, the Lipatti Quartet has performed in master classes with many of the world’s most respected chamber ensembles, including the Amadeus, American, Borodin, Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, Juilliard, Orion, Takacs, and Tokyo String Quartets. The Lipatti Quartet toured extensively in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Romania.

Lupanu’s awards as a soloist include the First Prizes of the International Violin Competition in Stresa, Italy, and the National Violin Competition in Suceava, Romania. Prior to winning the national audition for the Charlotte Symphony position, Lupanu served as Associate Concertmaster of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Evansville Philharmonic, Principal of the Alabama Symphony, and Concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony, as well as being the first violinist of the Montclaire Quartet. In addition to his season-long responsibilities in Charlotte, Lupanu maintains a busy summer schedule, participating in such festivals as Bach and Beyond, Aspen, Lower Saxony, Strings in the Mountains, and the Colorado Music Festival, the latter of which he has been a member since 1998 and served as Concertmaster from 2004 until 2022, being the longest serving Concertmaster in the history of the Colorado Music Festival.

An active chamber musician, Lupanu has collaborated with the Fine Arts Quartet, Angela Cheng, Jon Nakamatsu, Christopher Taylor, Orion Weiss, Andres Cardenes, Lynn Harrell, Desmond Hoebig, Jose Feghali, Olga Kern, Joshua Roman, Phillip Bush, and was featured as a soloist with the Evansville Philharmonic, Alabama Symphony, Green Bay Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.

A very dedicated teacher, Lupanu maintains an active teaching studio in Charlotte and served as Lecturer in Strings at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Since 2016, Calin Lupanu and his wife, Monica Boboc, have started the non-profit ensemble and series, Chamber Music for All, committed to providing high quality chamber music performances and educational projects, accessible to both younger audiences as well as experienced listeners. Chamber Music for All performs concerts throughout Charlotte greater area.

Mr. Lupanu plays a violin made by Pierre Silvestre in Lyon, France in 1857.