Monica Chen

An emerging Canadian conductor, Monica Chen is the RBC Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director of the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra and Sistema Winnipeg program, working closely with Maestros Daniel Raiskin and Julian Pellicano. She was selected to be a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of Orchestre Métropolitain’s Conducting Academy, and has worked with Yannick Nézet-Séguin for three seasons, and is currently a conducting fellow with Tapestry Opera’s Year 3 Cohort, working with orchestras and opera companies across the country. This last summer, she was chosen to participate in the Tanglewood Music Centre’s 2024 Conducting Seminar, working closely with Stefan Asbury. Recent and upcoming conducting engagements include working with Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Kamloops Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Opera, Opera Kelowna, and the Orchestre Métropolitain. She has had the honour to work with acclaimed conductors such as maestros Neil Varon, Thomas Rösner, and the late Bramwell Tovey. Monica completed two Masters, one in Orchestral Conducting from UBC studying with Dr. Jonathan Girard and the other in violin performance from Indiana University studying with Mimi Zweig.