About Hsuan-Fong
Oboist Hsuan-Fong Chen (pronounced “SHUan-fong”) has garnered a reputation as one of New York City’s most versatile musicians, with a career spanning orchestral, Broadway, contemporary music, and arts administration. Having performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, she is sought after for a wide range of engagements—from sharing the stage with Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala to serving as lead oboist in the Broadway production of Rocktopia. She currently holds the oboe and English horn chair for the Broadway revival of Ragtime at Lincoln Center. Her additional Broadway credits include substitute appearances in Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, and Camelot at Lincoln Center. In 2023, she was the oboist for the world premiere of Watch Night, a theatrical collaboration led by Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Bill T. Jones.
A seasoned orchestral musician, Ms. Chen has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and toured the West Coast with the New York Philharmonic. Other notable appearances include Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Knights, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, New York Classical Players, Novus NY, and the Classical Music Institute in San Antonio.
An active advocate for contemporary music, Ms. Chen performs regularly with Novus NY at Trinity Church Wall Street, Rocket City New Music, Talea Ensemble, Metropolis Ensemble, and the Orchestra of the League of Composers. She has also appeared with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Chelsea Music Festival. Her contemporary music performances include the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s Bebop Riddle V. As a soloist, she has presented recitals and performed concerti with orchestras in Taiwan, Germany, and throughout the United States. In 2019, she made her recording debut on the Naxos label, performing Beethoven’s Serenade for Winds alongside faculty from the Yale School of Music.
A musician since the age of four, Ms. Chen is a proud alumna of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and has honed her craft through invitations to festivals around the world. In the United States, she has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Bard Music Festival, Chelsea Music Festival, Phoenix Chamber Music Society, Kingston Chamber Music Festival, and Artosphere Music Festival, among others. Internationally, she has appeared at Schloss Beuggen in Germany and toured Japan with both the Pacific Music Festival and the New York Symphonic Ensemble.
As an educator, Ms. Chen serves on the oboe faculty at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY. She previously taught at The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program and Pre-College Division, and has held teaching positions at the Calhoun School and Greenwich Music School. She maintains private oboe and piano studios.
In addition to her performing career, Ms. Chen serves as Personnel Manager for Rocket City New Music, working closely with founder and percussionist Sean Ritenauer on artist personnel and concert production. Previously, she served as Artistic Coordinator and Orchestra Manager for the inaugural season of the National Youth Orchestra of China, coordinating performances with NPR’s From the Top, WQXR’s Artist Showcase, and the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall debut.
A native of Taiwan, Hsuan-Fong Chen holds degrees from The Juilliard School (B.M.), the Yale School of Music (M.M. and Artist Diploma), and the Manhattan School of Music (Orchestral Performance Diploma). Before pursuing the oboe professionally, she was an accomplished pianist, performing at Carnegie Hall after receiving First Prize at the American Fine Arts Festival and appearing in the National Palace Museum’s historical documentary A Museum Without Walls alongside her piano teacher, Da-Ming Zu. She is grateful to her mentors Nathan Hughes, Elaine Douvas, Pedro Diaz, Linda Strommen, and Stephen Taylor. She lives in New York City with her husband, percussionist Sean Ritenauer, their son, Koby, and their cockapoo, Hiro.
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