Phyllis Chen is a pianist, toy pianist, composer and performance artist. She has been recognized with numerous national honors, including the International Bartok/Kabalevsky Piano Competition, the Stravinsky Awards, National Coleman Chamber Music Competition, Hoverson Piano Award, the Northwestern and Indiana University Concerto Competitions, and most recently, the 2007 New Music/New Places Concert Artist Guild Award.
Phyllis, a native of Blacksburg, Virginia, attended Oberlin Conservatory in the Fall of 1995 as a recipient of the Dean's Talent Award Scholarship. She continued her studies at Northwestern University as an Eckstein Merit Scholar where she received her Masters degree in 2000. After graduation, Phyllis won the 2001 Marjorie Barnett Competition of Chicago, receiving a specialized Bach Prize for her performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Due to this performance, Phyllis was invited for her Chicago debut at Symphony Center's Buntrock Hall as part of the 2001 Arts and Humanities Words and Pictures Festival. Later that year, Phyllis was invited as a guest pianist on the Dame Myra Hess Piano Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, aired live on WFMT Chicago Public Radio.
Phyllis is a member of ICE, International Contemporary Ensemble, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and performing innovative new works. She has performed with the ensemble in varying venues in Chicago and New York City. In May 2005, Phyllis traveled with five other members to Michoacan, Mexico as a guest ensemble for the Festival Internacional de Musica Contemporánea in Morelia, Mexico. She has also collaborated extensively with ICE tenor, Peter Tantsits, where the duo traveled to Russia and England in 2002 to perform song cycles of Benjamin Britten.
Phyllis is an active toy pianist. In November of 2005, Phyllis was invited to perform a selection of toy piano and electronic pieces, including her own composition Suite for Toy Piano at the Extensible Toy Piano Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts. Phyllis hosted the 2007 UnCaged Toy Piano Competition, a contest for compositions using toy piano and electronics. The winning selections are scheduled to be performed in NYC September 2008.
Phyllis has been interested in performing toy pianos in multimedia performances. After meeting video artist, Rob Dietz, the duo has collaborated on various interdisciplinary projects using toy pianos, electronics, live video and installations. In the Spring of 2007, the duo premiered Phyllis's multimedia piece, The Memoirist for three toy pianos, laptop, sampling keyboard, bowls, music box, frying pan, pillow, and stuffed bunny. (visit media page to view the video)
Phyllis was a Chancellor Fellow pursuing her DMA at Indiana University under the tutelage of Andre Watts. She now resides in New York City.
