Michael Chen, trumpet

Originally from Orlando, Florida, Michael Chen started out as a trumpet player in the sixth grade at his sister's insistence, mainly because she thought trumpet players were cute at the time. He stuck with it for unrelated reasons, and now plays substitute with the Richmond Symphony. In high school, Michael began serious studies under Tom Cupples of the National Symphony. Michael earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance under Charles Geyer at Rice's Shepherd School of Music, and proceeded to complete his studies with a Master of Music under Raymond Mase at the Juilliard School.

When not performing, Michael is an avid rock climber, film watcher, and software engineer.