Shih-Hui Chen

Recipient of the 2023 Walter Hinrichsen Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Taiwanese-American composer SHIH-HUI CHEN is fascinated by the narratives at the intersection of identity, culture, and tradition. In her works, she seeks to cross boundaries between music and society, between the music of distinct cultures, and between music and other art forms. Recognition of her work has come from institutions that include the American Academy in Rome, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Fulbright Scholar Program. Chen’s compositions have brought her into contact with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. Her recent projects include a thirty-minute, multimedia cello concerto, Our Son Is Not Coming Home To Dinner; a sixty minute, mixed-media viola concerto sisila ila ila: saying goodbye, which includes shadow puppets; and a seventy-minute cross-genre theatrical work Kimchi, Pickles and Wine.

Shih-Hui Chen serves on the Performing Arts and Culture committee at the Asia Society Texas Center and is on the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University faculty. Her music can be heard on Albany, New World, and Bridge Records.