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 is a conducting fellow with Tapestry Opera’s Year 3 Cohort, assisting opera companies across the country. She was selected to be a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of Orchestre Métropolitain’s Conducting Academy, and has been working with and assisting Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2021. Other conducting engagements include working with Manitoba Opera, Opera Kelowna, Astrolabe Musik Theatre, Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec 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.