Interests: Music

C A R O L   C H E N :   M U S I C I A N

Music has always been a major part of my life. I play the piano (with Grade 8 ABRSM) and drums and various other instruments. I like to sing (I'm an alto) and compose as well. My taste in music is greatly varied, from classical to pop, new age to jazz, metal to inspirational, instrumental (especially keyboards) to vocals, musicals, alternative, hard rock, soft rock, grunge... I have been pretty involved in bands and orchestras all along. It started off in Primary school (elementary school) when I was the pianist in the school's Instrumental Ensemble. When I went to Secondary (middle/high) school, I joined the symphonic band as a percussionist. During that time, I was also the percussion section leader in the Combined Schools Band, and guest-played for the Combined Schools Orchestra as well. In the National University of Singapore, I joined the NUS Symphony Orchestra in my second year. I also got together with some friends on campus and we formed a 4-man band (well actually 3 men and 1 woman), and called ourselves "Elysian Fields". We had two gigs... before I deserted them and flew over here. So far in my stay here in the States, I've played briefly with the Plano Community Band, and I've taken Individual Voice, Chamber Singers, Midi Music and Chamber Music Ensemble among my other classes at UTD. This summer (2001) I've picked up piano lessons again, after a break of 10 years! I'm trying to get my fingers to do what they used to be able to do.

 

T H E   C D   C O L L E C T I O N  

This list was first compiled in April 1997 after my final exams for that semester (I had nothing better to do then). It was updated a few times, but the last update was in January 1998. Since then I have of course gotten more CDs and I still have some back in Singapore. Anyway I used to have links to artiste websites and also wanted to place links to Musicblvd.com (now Cdnow.com) where people can buy the CD if they wanted. But I'm lazy, it's just too much work and no one is paying me to do it. So the list is still here, although it doesn't serve much purpose...

 

 

Ace of Base : The Sign [Single]
Air Supply : Making Love.... The Very Best
Alanis Morissette : Jagged Little Pill
Aqua : Aquarium [Double CD]
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Robert Shaw) : Many Moods of Christmas, The

Bangles : Greatest Hits
Barbra Streisand : Higher Ground
Barry Manilow : Because It's Christmas
Barry Manilow : Greatest Hits Volume II
Barry Manilow : Summer of 78
Beck! : Odelay
Bette Midler : Some People's Lives
Björk : Post
Bob Carlisle : Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace)
Bon Jovi : Cross Road
Bon Jovi : These Days
Boston Pops, The (John Williams) : Space-Taculars
Bryan Adams : Everything I do I do it for You [Single]
Bush : Razorblade Suitcase

Cardigans, The : First Band on the Moon
Carpenters : Yesterday Once More [Double CD]
Celine Dion : Falling Into You
Chage & Aska : Redhill [Japanese]
Chemical Brothers, The : Exit Planet Dust
Chicago Symphony / Boston Pops : Greatest Overtures
Corrs, The : Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Cranberries, The : Arrogance
Cranberries, The : To the Faithful Departed
Cranberries, The : Uncertain EP [Single]

Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Andrew Litton) : Sleeping Beauty, The (Tchaikovsky)
Dave Matthews Band : Crash
Dave Wong : Movie Themes Collection [Chinese/Cantonese]
David Foster : A Touch of David Foster
David Helfgott (Pianist) : Plays Rachmaninov
Def Leppard : Slang [Double CD]
Def Leppard : Vault - Greatest Hits
Dick Bartley : Presents One Hit Wonders of the '60s, Vol 2
Dmitri Ratser (Pianist) : Plays Liszt
Don McLean : Favorites & Rarities [Double CD]
Don Moen : Worship with Don Moen
Dream Theater : Images and Words
Duncan Sheik : Duncan Sheik

Edwin McCain : Honor Among Thieves
Edwin McCain : Misguided Roses
Ellen DeGeneres : Taste This
Elton John : Greatest Hits Volume II
Elton John : Love Songs
Elton John : Rare Masters [Double CD]
Elton John : Something About The Way You Look Tonight [Single]
Emil Chow and Easy Band : Xiao3 Tian1 Tang2 [Chinese]
Enya : Memory of Trees, The
Evelyn Glennie (Percussionist) : Drumming

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (Neeme Järvi) : 1812 / Marche Slave (Tchaikovsky)
Grasshopper : The Best [Cantonese]
Green Day : 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours
Green Day : Dookie
Green Day : Insomniac

Instrumental (Jazz) : Songs of the Melancholy Cafe
Jacky Cheung : Zhui4 Ai4 Collection [Chinese]
Janet Jackson : Control
Janet Jackson : Rhythm Nation 1814
Jeff Lorber : State of Grace
Jim Brickman : Picture This
Jordan Hill : Jordan Hill

Kenny G : Breathless
Kenny G : Live
Kitaro : Best Collection

LeAnn Rimes : Blue
Linda McKechnie : Christmas Carols and Classics
London Festival Orchestra (Alfred Scholz) : Famous Overtures
London Symphony Orchestra (Anthony Inglis) : Phantom Fantasia (Andrew L. Webber)
London Symphony Orchestra (István Kertész) : "New World" (Dvorák)
London Symphony Orchestra (John Williams) : The Hollywood Sound
London Symphony Orchestra (Piero Gamba) : Carmen Fantaisie (Bizet)
London Symphony Orchestra (Stanley Black) : Spartacus (Khachaturian)
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (Sir Colin Davis) : Messiah (Handel) [Double CD]
Luciano Pavarotti : Pavarotti & Friends II

Madonna : Something to Remember
Mariah Carey : Daydream
Mariah Carey : Music Box
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The (James Levine) : Metropolitan Opera Gala
Michael Bolton : The One Thing
Michael Jackson : History [Double CD]
Munich Symphony Orchestra (Kurt Capek) : Violin Concerto No. 1 (Paganini)

National Philharmonic Orchestra (Riccardo Chailly) : Famous Italian Overtures
Neil Diamond : His 12 Greatest Hits
No Doubt : Tragic Kingdom

Oasis : What's the Story, Morning Glory?

Pantera : Vulgar Display of Power
Pet Shop Boys : Liberation CD2 [Single]
Philadelphia Orchestra (Eugene Ormandy) : Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns)
Philharmonia Orchestra (Carlo Maria Giulini) : "Pathetique" (Peter Tchaikovsky)
Philharmonia Orchestra (John Lanchbery) : The Three Great Ballets (Tchaikovsky)
Philharmonia Orchestra (Yevgeny Svetlanov) : 'Mlada' Suite (Rimsky-Korsakov)

R.E.M. : Monster
Republica : Republica
Richard Marx : Ballads - Then, Now and Forever
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (David Zinman) : Coppélia (Delibes) [Double CD]
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Walter Weller) : Peer Gynt - Incidental Music (Greig)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Yehudi Menuhin) : Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar)
Rundfunkorchester des Südwestfunks (Klaus Arp) : Famous Overtures III

Samson Francois (Pianist) : Nocturnes / Etudes (Frederic Chopin)
San Francisco Symphony (Michael Tilson Thomas) : Romeo & Juliet (Sergei Prokofiev)
Sandy Lum : Love, Sandy [Chinese]
Secret Garden : Songs from A Secret Garden
Selena : Dreaming of You
Sky Wu : Ai4 De Guo4 Huo3 [Chinese]
Sky Wu : Bu4 Tong2 [Chinese]
Sky Wu : Ni3 Ai4 Shui2 ? [Chinese]
Sky Wu : Wu3 Yue4 Guang1 [Chinese]
Sky Wu : Zhui4 Ai4 Shi4 Ni3 [Chinese]
Soundgarden : Down on the upside
Soundgarden : Superunknown
Soundtrack : A Chorus Line
Soundtrack : Anastasia
Soundtrack : Apollo 13
Soundtrack : Beauty and the Beast
Soundtrack : Beavis and Butt-head Do America
Soundtrack : Bette Midler / The Rose
Soundtrack : Beverly Hills 90210
Soundtrack : Dances With Wolves
Soundtrack : Evita
Soundtrack : Forrest Gump [Double CD]
Soundtrack : Friends
Soundtrack : Grease
Soundtrack : Hercules
Soundtrack : Independence Day
Soundtrack : Jerry Maguire
Soundtrack : Les Misérables [Double CD]
Soundtrack : Mirror has Two Faces, The
Soundtrack : Miss Saigon [Double CD]
Soundtrack : Mr. Holland's Opus
Soundtrack : Phantom of the Opera, The [Double CD]
Soundtrack : Powder
Soundtrack : Romeo + Juliet
Soundtrack : Scent of a Woman
Soundtrack : Shine
Soundtrack : Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Soundtrack : Space Jam
Soundtrack : That Thing You Do!
Soundtrack : Titanic
Soundtrack : Twister
Soundtrack : Wizard of Oz, The
Staatskapelle Berlin Orchestra (Heinz Bongartz) : Egmont Overture (Beethoven)
Stella Chang : Best Collection I [Chinese]
Stella Chang : Best Collection II [Chinese]
Stella Chang : Chun2 Chui4 [Chinese]
Stella Chang : Da4 Yu3 De Yei4 Li3 [Chinese]
Steve Vai : Fire Garden
Sting : Fields of Gold
Sting : Mercury Falling

Tori Amos : Boys for Pele

U2 : POP

Van Halen : Best of, Volume I
Van Halen : For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Vanessa-Mae : Violin Player, The
Vanessa Williams : Comfort Zone, The
Vanessa Williams : Sweetest Days, The
Various Artistes : Billboard Mega Hits
Various Artistes : Disney's Love Songs
Various Artistes : Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III
Various Artistes : Luan4 Shi4 Jia1 Ren2 [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Luan4 Shi4 Jia1 Ren2 II [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston
Various Artistes : Nan2 Huan1 Nu3 Ai4 II [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Now - That's what I call Music!
Various Artistes : Old Love Songs IV
Various Artistes : Rock Records Mega Movie Themes Collection
Various Artistes : Smash Hits Vol. II
Various Artistes : The Lion King and other Movie Themes
Various Artistes : Women for Women
Various Artistes : Xin1 Hao3 Nan2 Ren2 [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Xin1 Hao3 Nan2 Ren2 II [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Xin1 Qu3 Jing1 Xuan3 [Chinese]
Various Artistes : Yue4 Tan2 Wei1 Long2 [Chinese]
Various Orchestras : Marches - The Greatest Hits [Double CD]
Various Orchestras/Vocalists : Best Classical Album in the World ... Ever! [Double CD]
Various Orchestras/Vocalists : Your Hundred Best Opera Tunes I
Vic Chesnutt : About to Choke

Walt Disney Records : Presents Classic Disney Volume III
Wan4 Fang1 : Fang1 Xin1 [Chinese]
Whitney Houston : Whitney Houston
Wiener Mozart Ensemble (Willi Boskovsky) : Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)
Wiener Philharmoniker (Pierre Monteux) : "Pastoral" (Beethoven)

X-Files, The : Songs in the Key of X
X-Files, The (Music from) : The Truth and the Light (Mark Snow)
Xing1 Xiao3 Qi2 : Wei4 Dao4 [Chinese]

Yanni : In the Mirror
Yanni : Live at the Acropolis

Zhang1 Hui4 Mei4 : Mei4 Li4 Si4 She4 [Chinese/English, Double CD]
Zhao4 Chuan2 : Ai4 Wo3 Jiu4 Gei3 Wo3 [Chinese]