Sean Chen: Pianist Extraordinare

The applause fades away, replaced by a silent anticipation. A man sits down at the piano and his fingers move gracefully up a down the keys, filling the room with the chime of melodious chords. For those gathered in Phillips Church this past Tuesday evening, this man was the world-renowned pianist Sean Chen.Without a doubt, Chen is no stranger to performance: after earning his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School and his Artist Diploma at the Yale School of Music, Chen soon distinguished himself as one of classical music’s rising stars.Chen had been accepted to both Harvard and MIT, but he chose Juilliard because he knew he wanted to be a musician. “It would not have been fair to go to those schools when all I wanted to do was play piano,” Chen said.At Juilliard, Chen developed his musical ear and honed his tone control and sound quality. “My teacher at Juilliard didn't like harsh sounds,” Chen explained. “He would not allow them from his students so I had to learn to be comfortable playing softly, to not be afraid of the full range of dynamics not just the loud showy stuff."Chen has been awarded the American Pianists Association’s DeHaan Classical Fellowship, one of America’s most prestigious prizes for pianists, and took third place at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Chen also performs in ensembles across the globe, appearing as a soloist in orchestras from Indianapolis to Boston to Amsterdam.Yet despite all this, Chen’s performance on Tuesday still managed to exceed expectations, with many students admiring Chen’s grace and control over stunningly difficult pieces.Lower Roger Shen was particularly impressed by Chen’s blend of styles.“There were a lot of incredibly technical challenges in his program . . .  [but] I thought one of the best aspects of his performance was that he didn't make the performance all about how difficult the pieces are,” Shen said. “He didn't center everything on excessive virtuosic flair. Instead, he created a mixture of many different sounds, colors, and textures.”Upper Michelle Bosche agreed, admiring Chen’s seeming ease while playing the pieces. “My favorite part was actually the first song he played,” Bosche said. “It had three movements, each contrasting with one another in speed and mood . . . These songs are incredibly difficult to learn and play, and he makes them seem easy to a listener.”Chen also taught a master class, where four Exonians had the opportunity to play alongside him. After a rigorous audition, the music department chose seniors Jay Lee and Andrew Xu, upper Darius Shi and lower Ho Joon Kim.Shi described working with Chen as a “thrilling experience” and unique opportunity. “Just imagine having a world-class pianist sitting next to you and teaching you,” Shi said. “It was amazing. He really wasn't just a good pianist, but also a great teacher. He had this very comforting smile and a very friendly voice. So it was easy to converse with him.”Shi also praised Chen’s performance on Tuesday, saying that Chen’s tone control was the most impressive part. “I know that the church piano has a very unbalanced sound,” Shi said. “Its bass is very powerful, while its treble clef is much weaker. Notes with higher pitch were often overwhelmed by the strong bass notes, but Sean's sound control was so good that he found a balance. Overall, he is an amazing young pianist, a great teacher and a likeable person.”Sean Chen is the first musician to play in this school years’ PEA’s Gilbert Concert Series, which brings two or three musicians to Exeter each year to play concerts, free of charge to the public. Clint Gilbert ’47 founded the Gilbert Concert Series in 1998 as a way to bring his love of music to Exeter.Peter Schultz, Head of the Music Department, described the birth of the Gilbert Concert Series and benefits it brings to campus. “Clint Gilbert is an alum and passionate music lover, who wanted to do something for the music department and for the Exeter community at large,” Schultz said. “He very generously set up this fund that gives us money every year to bring artists to campus to do these concerts. These are professional artists that are making their living performing all over the world.”Vanissa Holroyd, Gilbert Concert Series Manager, described the process for choosing artists to come perform at the Academy. “The Music Department always has a running list of potential Gilbert Artists.  We are always open to suggestions from students and other faculty.”Holroyd continued, “[as] Concert Series Manager my goal is to provide balance to the yearly programming between classical, jazz, world music and vocal music performers.  In the case of Sean Chen, Mr. Schultz connected with him at a music event in North Carolina and Sean expressed interest in coming to campus.  He was selected both because of his talent and also his ability to connect easily with students.”Schultz also described the consideration but into each artist. “We try to get a wide variety of different types of musicians and artists,” Schultz said. “Not always classical artists: we’ve had a world music person last year who played the flute; we’ve had a guitar quartet; we’ve had klezmer bands.”Many Exonians also appreciate the variety of talents that the Gilbert Concert Series brings to campus. “The Gilbert concerts score some unreal musicians, and they are a wonderful part of Exeter that a lot of people don't take advantage of,” Bosche said.And nowhere was this clearer than Chen’s concert on Tuesday. As Roger Shen remembers: “The audience walked away remembering his singing tone, almost-touchable textures, and long phrasings - aspects of beauty.”