Han Chen speaks with composer Hsu Chiayu, whose work blends Chinese and western techniques and bond over their shared experience as Taiwanese immigrants.

The new opera “In A Grove” may seem familiar, but in the hands of Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann the story that inspired "Rashomon" will definitely be different.

Han Chen speaks with composer, improviser, and pianist Jonah Haven about the process of writing a new solo piano work co-commissioned by Han Chen and Metropolis Ensemble.

For anyone old enough to remember the birth of the internet, the room in the house where that endearing, bulky desktop computer lived had a certain allure.

Han Chen speaks with composer, pianist, and vocalist Clarice Assad about her Archetypes project, which illustrates types of characters that pop up in cultures all around the world.

Han Chen speaks with composer Huang Ruo about how he weaves his own personal understanding of Eastern and Western influences into his compositions.

LINEAGE(S) asks artists to be vulnerable with each other by acknowledging and then sharing the music that lives in their own bodies. We created a map which involves improvising and listening deeply to overlapping LINEAGE(S) gestures*. The piece also includes an evolving lineage folder where ensembles are invited to upload audio or visual documentation of their LINEAGE(S) gestures* to inspire future performers of the piece.

ent- is most immediately a reference to a german inseparable prefix that indicates beginning, movement away, separation, or reversion. but it’s also the beginning of the (etymologically distinct) word “entropy,” which denotes both the degree of disorder within a system and the gradual decline into this disorder. either sense works to evoke the process I envision for the piece. after beginning with slow, stable repetition, performers are encouraged to take inspiration from their surroundings as they diverge from the score and inject unpredictability into their playing.

Homologous explores the multifold ways sounds can be heard and manipulated. Inspired by jazz, electronic music, and movement, the piece asks the performers to relate to one another as a sound source, commentator, live processor, and a movement listener, creating a listening practice based on these roles.

Pianist Miki Sawada shares a playlist of pieces reflecting her experience during the pandemic.

Will Groove for Pizza was written collaboratively for Metropolis Ensemble’s Biophony project and is dedicated to all of the teachers who taught us the joy of play. It’s also a reminder to pay artists for the work they do, because one cannot live on pizza alone in this neoliberal capitalist system.