HANNAH CHEN
ABOUT
Hannah Chen (b. 2006) is a composer and harpist from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. She is a recent graduate of Oakland School for the Arts and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, studying harp with Jennifer Ellis and composition with Mario Godoy. Hannah is the harpist of San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.
As a harpist, she has won 1st in the United States International Music Competition, 1st in the New York International Young Musician Competition, 1st in the BACAHS Yvonne LaMothe Schwager Competition, the Grand prize of the American Soloist International Music Competition, the Grand prize of the Prodigy International Music Competition, and more, with additional prizes from the American Harp Society National Competition and U.S. Open Music Competition. She has also performed in the East Bay Chamber Music Festival as a harp trio and been a member of Music at the Mission's Chamberfest. Hannah is the harpist of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, performing and rehearsing at Davies Symphony Hall, and has participated in masterclasses with harpists such as Ann Yeung, Katherine Siochi, and more.
As a composer, Hannah is an alumna of Wildflower Composers Camp, SFCM Technology and Applied Composition Immersive, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Luna Composition Lab, where her music was released on the "New Moons" album. She was a Featured Composer through the Young Composers Project at the American Harp Society’s 2023 National Conference and was commissioned by EXTENSITY Concert Series, where she will have a NYC premiere of a solo cello work. Her works have received recognition from ASCAP, the Bay Area Creative Foundation, the Penn State Ballora Wang Composer Awards, Ember Ablaze, and more, and she was named a 2023 and 2024 National YoungArts winner. She has worked with groups such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Music at the Mission’s Chamberfest, and Argus Quartet. Hannah also enjoys film scoring and video game music.
Hannah is also extremely passionate about musical accessibility and diversifying/promoting underrepresented composers and repertoire. She is an intern for Ensemble for These Times, an artist-led Bay Area group dedicated to equity in the arts, and an Area Representative/volunteer/performer for Art of the Heart, bringing live music to senior citizens, isolated pediatric patients, low-income adults, and more. She will be attending the Curtis Institute of Music in the fall of 2024.