Sean Chen captivated audiences and critics at the 2013 Cliburn Competition with concerts “that had the crowd not just standing…but cheering loudly,” (KDHX, St. Louis) earning the crystal award and winning three years of concert tours in the United States—the first American to win a prize since 1997. Markedly, in his Final Round performance of Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 3, “he summoned massive, orchestral sonorities, yet he could also play with enormous delicacy. It was a muscular, impassioned performance, and you felt like he is an artist with something to say” (Cincinnati Enquirer).

Highlights of the 2013–14 season include return invitations to perform with the Indianapolis and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, performances at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Jordan Hall in Boston, and recital and concerto appearances across the United States and Europe.

Born in Florida, Sean. Chen grew up in Oak Park, California and has collected awards that include the 2010 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Award, and an NFAA ARTSweek award. He now resides in New Haven, Connecticut, where he is pursuing his artist diploma at the Yale School of Music under Hung-Kuan Chen.

He previously studied with Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio at The Juilliard School, where he earned his bachelor’s degree.