
PRESS
In Review: SWELL HERE, NY National Sawdust Log 7.14.19
THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING
"Chen delivered a fascinating score, particularly in the choral writing, which is arguably the work's glory... through a variety of vocal effects deftly creates the aural evocation of a digital world." Opera News, 6/2023
"... runaway success....Chen’s potent score flings the drama aloft with an appealingly broad expressive palette. She places a special emphasis on extended techniques: string players bow on the side of their instruments and wind players breathe tonelessly through their instruments; choristers drum their fingers on their music folders to mimic the muted sound of rain. Chen’s vocal writing likewise brims with inventive word-painting: The words “chat,” “chit,” and variations thereof recur in choral interludes throughout the opera, their crackling consonance echoing the clicking sounds of Turing’s code-breaking machines." Musical America 3/ 2023
"...revelatory... terrific... inventive" Chicago Reader
"Silence—feeling as long as five seconds—seemed to underline that we in the audience were now a part of opera history." PictureThisPost
"When was the last time a performance of any kind gave you cold chills? ... the visceral and literal sort of chills that lets you know something inside you has been moved? That was how I felt at last night’s performance of InsightALT: The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing " TheTuxedoRevolt
"...Vibrant... remarkable... gorgeous...masterful." BWW Opera
"...elliptical and poignant... A chess game scene between Turing and his fiancee portrayed the tragically painful and farcically awkward breaking-up of a relationship with uncomfortable accuracy..." en.paperblog.com
"Chen has a real knack for encapsulating sense of place through sound....Chen embodies the echoes heard as one speaking resounds in the lofted hallways and rafters of the church sanctuary... a sense of place...depth, nuance and dimension – a 3-D sound effect if you will... a tremendously fun effect." operapulse
JEANNE
"... lyrical, atmospheric...striking. Throughout, Ms. Chen balances despair and humor." The New York Times
"...inventive, powerful, and distinctly personal, with vocal writing distinguished by its sure-handed maturity and lyrical sweep...Its ethereal beauty and demanding virtuosity built to a climax of supplicating ululations, and was deeply affecting." urbanmodernblogspot.com
"... gripping... dark, complex... striking... wrenching." feastofmusic.com
JUSTINE F. CHEN
COMPOSER AND VIOLINIST
BREAKING NEWS:
New Spotify Track released!
Click here to hear the Mighty Matt Haimovitz, cellist extraordinaire perform IRIDESCENT GEST!
SAVE THE DATE:
March 25, 2024 - THE FORUM, Columbia's newest gorgeous concert venue! The Harlem Chamber Players will be performing my string quartet
6:30 PM! Come join us!
THANK YOU to the cast and crew of THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING!! Chicago Tribune COT Interview Out Chicago
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