Chien Tan

Principal Second Violin

At this moment …

We would find Chien surrounded by instruments: a keyboard plugged into the computer, her regular violin, her treble violin and an amplified violin. "This summer I took two jazz combo workshops," says Chien. "I also lurk around the jazz scene here in Portland."

On the CD player …

Chien prefers I-Tunes to a CD; her current faves are a Balkan group Grupa Maistori and several jazz violinists, including Didier Lockwood, John Blake, Rob Thomas and Christian Howes, with whom she studied this summer.

In the kitchen …

Chien has eclectic taste: "Yesterday we picked up salami and German bread at the European deli, dumplings from the Korean grocery store, made salad from the local market and cooked brown rice." Chien and her husband Matthew also enjoy grilling salmon on their George Foreman Grill."

On the music stand …

Jazz charts from the Charlie Parker Omnibook, a transcription of his solos from recordings, and Vivaldi's Goldfinch Concerto, which Chien will perform with the Symphony in October. "Playing jazz is my etude at the moment because you can improvise and extend your technique."

And on the nightstand …

Chien is reading about Peace Pilgrim, a self-named peace activist. "She's an inspiring character who believed that to have peace, one must be peaceful," Chien explains. "She was an idealist who walked across the country wearing a tunic that said '25,000 miles for peace.' She never asked for money but people helped her with food and shelter along the way."

Before you left …

After showing you the treble violin, Chien would introduce you to the newest member of her family, a stray cat named Nekko-chan (Japanese for 'dear little cat'). "She just had a litter of five kittens the other day; want one? We've also got tons of tomatoes from our twelve plants. Matthew loves them and we always plant too many. If you don't take some home, we'll have to start a ketchup farm."