Before coming to Atlanta, Mei-Ann served as Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Symphony from 2003 to 2005 and in 2002, was unanimously selected as Music Director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (OR), the oldest of its kind and the model for many of the youth orchestras in the United States.  During her tenure with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Mei-Ann led its sold-out debut in Carnegie Hall, received an ASCAP for innovative programming and frequent press coverage, established new partnerships with the Oregon Symphony and Chamber Music Northwest, and developed new and unique musicianship programs for young musicians.

Mei-Ann has participated in the National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony, the National Conducting Institute with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, and the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.  She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Michigan, where she was a student of Kenneth Kiesler and Martin Katz.  Chen was the first recipient in the New England Conservatory’s history to receive double master’s degrees simultaneously in violin and orchestral conducting, and was awarded two of NEC’s two most prestigious medals upon graduation:

• Chadwick Medal for being the most outstanding undergraduate
• Schuller Medal for her extraordinary contribution to musical life in the community.
  

A native of Taiwan, Mei-Ann's musical talent was discovered by conductor Benjamin Zander and Dean of Preparatory Mark Churchill during New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra tour in Asia.  She was immediately offered a violin scholarship to study at the Walnut Hill School with Marylou Speaker Churchill, and later at the New England Conservatory with Frank Battisti and Richard Hoenich in conducting, Eric Rosenblith and James Buswell in violin, and Eugene Lehner (the violist in the legendary Kolisch String Quartet), Colin Carr, and Borromeo String Quartet in chamber music.  Before pursuing a career in conducting, Mei-Ann was an accomplished violinist who performed under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson Thomas, and appeared in Tanglewood Music Festival and Carnegie Hall numerous times.  As the recipient of the Alexander Schneider Memorial Award, she performed Haydn’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross” with Laurence Lesser, Masuko Ushioda, and Scott Nickrenz in the renowned chamber music series at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum concert series in Boston.

Chen came to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as a member of the American Conducting Fellows Program, a national conductor-training program developed and managed by the American Symphony Orchestra League to support the musical and leadership development of exceptionally talented conductors in the early stages of their professional careers. Aiming to improve the qualifications of American conductors to assume leadership roles as music directors of American orchestras, the program is funded by major grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.