Mendelssohn-Hensel: Ouverture
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Svendsen: Symphony No. 2
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor
Ludvig Gudim, violin
Praised for her dynamic, passionate conducting style, Taiwanese American conductor Mei-Ann Chen is acclaimed for infusing orchestras with enthusiasm and high-level music-making, galvanizing audiences and communities alike. Music Director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, her contract has been extended through the end of the 2028-2029 season. Chen has been Chief Conductor of Austria’s Recreation – Grosses Orchester Graz at Styriarte since fall 2021 following two seasons as the orchestra’s first-ever Principal Guest Conductor, making her the first female Asian conductor to hold this position with an Austrian orchestra. She has served as the first-ever Artistic Partner of Houston’s ROCO since 2019, and since 2022, as an Artistic Partner with Northwest Sinfonietta (WA). Highly regarded as a compelling communicator and an innovative leader both on and off the podium, and a sought-after guest conductor, she recently made her Chicago Symphony Orchestra @ Ravinia Festival debut and has appeared with distinguished orchestras throughout the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, The United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, and continues to expand her relationships with orchestras worldwide (over 150 orchestras to date). Honors include being named one of the 2015 Top 30 Influencers by Musical America; the 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras; the 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop; and 2005 First Prize Winner of the Malko Competition (she remains as the only woman in the competition history since 1965 to have won First Prize), and ASCAP awards for innovative programming.
Ludvig Gudim (born 1999) began playing the violin at the age of 5. He has participated in many prestigious programs and masterclasses, and at the Barratt Due Junior Orchestra, under the artistic direction of Soon-Mi Chung Barratt-Due, Ludvig served as concertmaster for several years.
He won NRK’s “Virtuos” competition in 2016 and represented Norway in the Eurovision final in Cologne the same year. Ludvig has won numerous national and international awards, including third prize in the Menuhin Competition in 2014 and the “Musician of the Year” award at the Youth Music Championship. In January 2024, he won Equinor’s talent scholarship in classical music worth 1 million Norwegian kroner.
Additionally, he won second prize in the Princess Astrid International Violin Competition in 2016. He has been a soloist with several national and international orchestras, including the Oslo Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Chamber Orchestra, and Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra.
