# Phyllis Chen
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{{Short description|American composer (born 1978)}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox biography
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Composer
* sound artist
* pianist
}}
| employer = [State University of New York at New Paltz](/source/State_University_of_New_York_at_New_Paltz)
| awards = [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship) (2022)
| alma_mater = {{ublist|
* [Oberlin Conservatory of Music](/source/Oberlin_Conservatory_of_Music)
* [Northwestern University](/source/Northwestern_University)
* [Jacobs School of Music](/source/Jacobs_School_of_Music)
}}
| module = {{Infobox academic
| embed = yes
| thesis_title = Inventions on the Keyboard
| thesis_year = 2015
| thesis_url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/213844183.pdf
| doctoral_advisor = [André Watts](/source/Andr%C3%A9_Watts)
}}
| module2 = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| genre = Contemporary classical
| instrument = [Toy piano](/source/Toy_piano)
| past_member_of = [International Contemporary Ensemble](/source/International_Contemporary_Ensemble)
}}
}}
'''Phyllis Chen''' (born 1978) is an American composer, sound artist, and pianist. A member of the [International Contemporary Ensemble](/source/International_Contemporary_Ensemble), she co-composed their 2016 album ''On The Nature Of Thingness'' and is a 2022 [Guggenheim Fellow](/source/Guggenheim_Fellow). After suffering from [tendinopathy](/source/tendinopathy), she began doing work on the [toy piano](/source/toy_piano), including an album and music festival both named UnCaged Toy Piano.
==Biography==
Chen, a native of [Blacksburg, Virginia](/source/Blacksburg%2C_Virginia),[{{Cite book |url=https://www.newpaltz.edu/media/music/programs/CS-prgm-2.pdf |title=Phyllis Chen: A Mini-Portrait |date=2022 |pages=2 |access-date=May 8, 2025}}] daughter of Dan and Jenny Chen.[{{Cite news |last=Dickenson |first=Kathie |date=May 23, 1995 |title=Communicating with music |work=The Roanoke Times |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/image/919590294/ NRV1], [https://www.newspapers.com/image/919590634/ NRV10] |via=Newspapers.com}}] She started learning piano as a young child.[{{Cite news |date=June 10, 2000 |title=Norton woman honored for her aid to senior citizens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/920998591/ |work=The Roanoke Times |page=NRV3 |via=Newspapers.com}}] one year earlier than her class.[{{Cite web |title=2015 Davenport Resident Phyllis Chen |url=https://www.newpaltz.edu/fpa/music/davenport-residency-for-new-american-music/2015 |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=SUNY New Paltz}}] her doctoral dissertation ''Inventions on the Keyboard'' was supervised by [André Watts](/source/Andr%C3%A9_Watts).[{{Cite thesis |last=Chen |first=Phyllis |title=Inventions on the Keyboard |date=2015 |degree=DM |publisher=Jacobs School of Music |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/213844183.pdf}}]
In 2001, she joined the [International Contemporary Ensemble](/source/International_Contemporary_Ensemble) (ICE) as one of their founding members.[{{Cite news |last=Delacoma |first=Wynne |date=November 17, 2011 |title=Phyllis Chen and ICE team up for strange and compelling evening |url=https://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2011/11/phyllis-chen-and-ice-team-up-for-strange-and-compelling-evening/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |work=Chicago Classical Review}}] In 2016, she and Nathan Davis composed the ICE's album ''On The Nature Of Thingness''.[{{Cite web |title=On The Nature Of Thingness: ICE Performs Chen And Davis |url=https://starkland.org/catalog/st223/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=Starkland}}] She eventually became Artist Emeritus at ICE.[{{Cite web |title=Staff & Artists |url=https://iceorg.org/staff-artists |access-date=May 9, 2025 |website=International Contemporary Ensemble}}]
As she once recalled, she "never found [the piano] to be entirely fulfilling [and] always thought there was something missing".[{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Jeffrey Arlo |date=February 4, 2024 |title=These Keyboard Musicians Are Thinking Beyond the Piano |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2921717119 |work=New York Times|id={{ProQuest|292171119}}}}] and she also composed a toy piano album of the same name.[{{Cite magazine |last=Haskins |first=Rob |year=2010 |title=UnCaged Toy Piano |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/223335046 |magazine=American Record Guide |page=183 |volume=73 |issue=3|id={{ProQuest|223335046}} }}] She was the toy pianist for the 2009 musical ''[Coraline](/source/Coraline_(musical))'' at the [Lucille Lortel Theatre](/source/Lucille_Lortel_Theatre).[{{Cite news |last=Lemon |first=Brendan |date=June 2, 2009 |title=Coraline, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/229183258 |work=FT.com |id={{ProQuest|229183258}}}}] She also performed the toy piano at the 2012 [Ringling International Arts Festival](/source/Ringling_International_Arts_Festival), where Gayle Williams of ''[Sarasota Herald-Tribune](/source/Sarasota_Herald-Tribune)'' said that Chen "has enough imagination for all of us".[{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Gayle |date=October 14, 2012 |title=Where toys and joys are aligned |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1111843635 |work=Sarasota Herald Tribune |page=BS7 |id={{ProQuest| 1111843635}}}}] During a review of her April 2013 performance at the [Atlas Performing Arts Center](/source/Atlas_Performing_Arts_Center), Stephen Brookes of ''[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)'' called Chen "a virtuoso of the toy piano".[{{Cite news |last=Brookes |first=Stephen |date=April 13, 2013 |title=Phyllis Chen and Carla Kihlstedt put 'play' back into playing contemporary classical music |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1326568102 |newspaper=The Washington Post|id={{ProQuest| 1326568102}}}}] Steve Smith of ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' called her a "leading proponent of the toy piano as a vehicle for serious music",[{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Steve |date=December 14, 2013 |title=Invention and Whimsy, Inspired by a Toy |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1467830461 |work=The New York Times |page=C1|id={{ProQuest|1467830461}}}}] while [Xenia Pestova Bennett](/source/Xenia_Pestova_Bennett) called her one of the pioneers of the [Schoenhut](/source/Schoenhut_Piano_Company) 372 and its open-lid counterpart 379.[{{Cite journal |last=Pestova |first=Xenia |date=2017 |title=Toy Pianos, Poor Tools: Virtuosity and Imagination in a Limited Context |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0040298217000456/type/journal_article |journal=Tempo |volume=71 |issue=281 |pages=27–38 |doi=10.1017/S0040298217000456 |issn=0040-2982 |via=Cambridge University Press}}]
She originally composed with pseudonyms before a friend approached her about talking with a composer who was actually Chen herself.[{{Cite news |last=da Fonseca-Wollheim |first=Corrina |date=December 16, 2014 |title=Move Over, Schroeder. Make Room for Tiny Dancers |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1636381455 |work=New York Times |page=C3 |id={{ProQuest|1636381455}}}}] In 2015, she composed ''Curios'' for the [Singapore International Festival of Arts](/source/Singapore_International_Festival_of_Arts), performed by [Margaret Leng Tan](/source/Margaret_Leng_Tan); Marcus Cheng Chye Tan called it an "important work to evaluate Tan's theatrimusicality".[{{Cite journal |last=Tan |first=Marcus Cheng Chye |date=2022 |title=The Curios Carnival: Margaret Leng Tan's Theatrimusicality |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1054204322000296/type/journal_article |journal=TDR: The Drama Review |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1017/S1054204322000296 |issn=1054-2043 |via=Cambridge University Press}}] In 2022, she was awarded a [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship) in Music Composition.[{{Cite web |title=Phyllis Chen |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/phyllis-chen/ |access-date=May 8, 2025 |website=Guggenheim Fellowship}}] Her piece "Sumitones" was performed at the 2024 [Schubert Club](/source/Schubert_Club) International Artist Series in [Ordway Center for the Performing Arts](/source/Ordway_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts).[{{Cite news |last=Hubbard |first=Rob |date=October 15, 2024 |title=Denk shows off versatility and eloquence: review: Female composers in spotlight |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3116730621 |work=Star Tribune |page=E6 |id={{ProQuest|3116730621}}}}]
She has also worked at [State University of New York at New Paltz](/source/State_University_of_New_York_at_New_Paltz) as assistant professor of music composition.