Shih-Hui Chen
陳士惠

 

photo by Marco Giugliarelli/Civitella Ranieri

“Among the composers of Asian descent living in the U.S.A., Shih-Hui Chen is most successful in balancing the very refined spectral traditions of the East with the polyphonic practice of Western art-music. In a seamless narrative, her beautiful music, always highly inventive and expressive, is immediately as appealing as it is demanding and memorable.” — 2007 Goddard Lieberson Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

“deep musical intelligence”-- 2013 Wire Magazine on CD Returning Souls.

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 work, she seeks to bridge boundaries between music and society, between the music of different cultures, and between music and other art forms.

This perspective informs both her creative works and community projects. Her recent cross-genre theatrical work Kimchi, Pickles, and Wine explores the idea of food preservation as a means to unite people from various cultures worldwide. Her chamber opera, or/and, delves into questions of personal and cultural identity, while her shadow puppet viola concerto, sisila ila ila: saying goodbye, addresses the conservation of culture and the environment. Chen’s commitment to fostering global connections also led to her founding of “21C: Classical, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Asian Music”, an annual performing arts festival that promotes intercultural exchange between Asia and the U.S. through lectures and performances.

“With deep research on Indigenous and nanguan music in Taiwan, Shih-Hui Chen has composed a series of compositions ranging from string quartets to traditional Chinese instrumental orchestra works, mixed instrumental chamber works with electronics, and full-length multimedia and bilingual story-telling dramas. Her strong personal voice bridges the East and West with passion, energy, and dramatic expression. Her contribution to intercultural exchange is unmistakable.” — 2023 Walter Hinrichsen Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

To gain a more profound understanding of the music and cultures of her homeland, Chen spent two years studying indigenous and nanguan music in Taiwan. Her works in this area include Withholding the Umbrella for Chinese orchestra, Returning Souls: Four Short Pieces on Three Formosan Amis Legends, and Echoes from Within: A Musical Response to Cy Twombly, a 45-minute site-specific work for sheng, double bass, and electronics in collaboration with composer Kurt Stallmann.

Shih-Hui Chen currently serves on the Performing Arts and Culture Committee at the Asia Society Texas Center and is on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She has collaborated with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. Her work has received recognition from prestigious institutions, including the American Academy in Rome, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Harvard/Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Koussevitzky Foundation, Barlow Prize, Fromm Foundation, Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Scholar Program. The residency she attended included the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and Bogliasco Foundation.

Chen’s recent projects include A Stillness That Moves, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera for the Rothko Chapel; Birds Are Real: Ambush from Ten Directions, commissioned for the Shepherd School of Music’s 50th-anniversary celebration; and BOUNCE!! for 13 players, commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. Her music can be heard on Albany, New World, and Bridge Records.

2023年二度獲得美國學院文藝作曲獎 、 2022年第33屆傳藝金曲獎最佳編曲提名的台灣作曲家陳士惠，1982年赴美深造並取得波士頓大學作曲博士學位。2000年起任教於美國萊斯大學音樂院，現為該校專任教授、「古樂今曲」音樂節執行長、亞洲協會 (Asia Society) 的表演藝術委員。她曾連續三年擔任美國傅爾布萊特（Fulbright) 獎評審委員、萊斯大學音樂院作曲系主任三年、Syzygy現代音樂會執行長十年。
旅美期間，陳士惠的作品不但曾獲得：美國國家文藝獎、羅馬音樂大獎、古根漢基金會獎、洛克斐勒基金會獎。她常年在美國發表作品，也多次赴韓國、德國及義大利等地演出；歷年合作演出的樂團包括：費城、克里夫蘭、西雅圖以及台灣交響樂團。
個人創作之外，陳士惠還多次策劃、執行跨界的音樂會，例如: 2013年她與胡台麗合作的台灣原住民阿美族紀錄片《讓靈魂回家》在美國七所大學巡迴演出；2015年在萊斯大學、亞洲協會舉辦的「國際絲竹音樂營」；2016年南管「古樂今曲」在美國六所大學的巡迴演出等。
2010- 2013年期間，陳士惠以傅爾布萊特學者及台灣獎助金身份回台，在中研院、南管管閣研究學習了兩年。這期間的研究與學習對她的創作有很大的影響，例如：《法鼓山水陸法會》(動畫配樂)、《推枕著衣──南管新唱》(南管琵琶及管弦樂團)、《請恢復我們的姓名》（為排灣詩人莫那能的詩而譜的人聲與室內樂)。
陳士惠近期的創作有：為國樂團所寫的《留傘》、古箏協奏曲《廣陵散的迴響》，以及專為Cy Twombly 美術館量身製作，由演奏者帶領著觀眾游移於整座美術館的八個空間的作品──《Echoes from Within: a Musical Response to Cy Twombly》 (笙、bass and electronics，與作曲家Kurt Stallmann 合作) 。這件作品除了與現代畫家 Cy Twombly的畫互相對應之外， 更重要的是讓觀眾重新認識這些抽象化畫、場地、空間，及其加上聲音所帶來的感受。

2022年，陳士惠完成了兩件重要作品：一件是以黃春明詩句為背景的多媒體大提琴協奏曲《國峻不回來吃飯》，另一件是在亞洲協會首演的《給女兒的話》。2023年新作《sisila ila ila: 別離之歌》是結合東華皮影戲團的中提琴協奏曲音樂劇。作品訴說1966年同時發生的事件：一個由美國發起保護鯨魚的運動；一首賽夏族人歌聲的故事。希望喚起人們對已經失去或可能正在失去的世界的省思，進而擁抱共同生活經歷，解除彼此心靈圍籬。
陳士惠個人的錄音作品由Albany、 New World 和 Bridge Records 等 CD公司出版。其中《讓靈魂回家》CD 獲英國前衛音樂雜誌《The Wire》盛讚「深具音樂智慧」。
個人網頁:www.shihhuichen.com