From Staff Reports

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Clarinet and music lovers alike enjoyed the musical stylings of Wylie High School clarinet instructor, Yi-Wen Chen last Friday. Chen, a native of Taiwan, performed pieces from J.S. Bach, Ching-Wen Chao, Halim Beere, Steve Reich, and Zack Browning. The performance included solo clarinet with electroacoustic music.

“I started learning piano at four-years old and learning clarinet at nine. I studied under the music gifted and talented education system,” Chen said. “I majored in both piano and clarinet until I began high school at which time I chose clarinet as my major.”

Chen received her DMA degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Besides being a founding member of the TV Buddha New Music Ensemble, she was also a commissioner and collaborator of contemporary music based in the Illinois area.

Chen said loves the clarinets range of sounds and its ability to mimic sounds heard in our every-day lives such as birds calls, scooter sounds and a boiling teapot.

“If you play in the wind ensemble, it serves a very important role in the group,” she said. “It plays a lot of leading melody, other instruments listen to you, and you get a lot of attention from the audience. However, clarinet can also work as accompaniment or can cooperate with other instruments in the orchestra music or chamber music.”

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