“Through the Thicket of Stars”: New album by Phyllis Chen takes listeners on an astro-mythological journey

Phyllis Chen has spent her career as a composer, pianist, and sound artist drawing from her tactile exploration of object and sound, as well as childlike whimsy.  

On her fifth album, “Through the Thicket of Stars,” the SUNY New Paltz Department of Music faculty member further explores these themes through a musical odyssey inspired by the books and illustrations of children’s author Grace Lin, and by the Chinese astro-mythological creatures that guard the four cardinal directions. 

“Being a composer that plays non-traditional instruments, I have a specific way I hear raw sounds for my compositions,” she said. “Making and recording original samples were part of the artistic process for ‘Through the Thicket of Stars,’ as I’m creating an imaginary and celestial soundscape.” 

Chen is known for her musical stylings on the toy piano, a miniature keyboard that often uses metal bars instead of strings.  

Described as “a bold pianist with an excellent sense of color” by the Los Angeles Times, Chen first came to New Paltz as a Kenneth Davenport resident in 2015, and has remained on in a full-time faculty role.  

Her experience in the music industry offers benefits to New Paltz music students that go beyond instruction in performance and theory. With her decision to self-produce “Through the Thicket of Stars,” and to self-release it on the relatively artist-friendly platform Bandcamp, Chen is modeling skills that can help her students succeed in the music industry after graduation.  

“It felt like a natural progression for me to completely self-produce this album,” she said. “I am happy to keep full artistic control over the sound, mix and image as the album is near and dear to me.”  

Chen has performed in a variety of contexts in the U.S. and abroad, including in New York City’s Lincoln Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and the Los Angeles County Museum.  

She has received commissions and grants from the Singapore International Festival of the Arts, Fromm Music Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, New Music U.S.A, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, A Far Cry, Opera Cabal Opera Shop, ICElab and more. 

You can find more of Chen’s work on her website.