Guitarist Owen Chen is currently based in New York City, where he is active in the New York jazz scene, and has roots in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, as well as maintaining an active musical internet presence on Instagram.
He went to New York University for his Masters Degree in Jazz
Instrumental Performance and is
an alumni
from UC Berkeley with degrees in Computer Science & Cognitive Science. As a classical musician from the the age of 5 and with 20+ years of musical
experience, Owen futhered his musical studies
at NYU with
world reknowned jazz musicians and leading figures in jazz guitar, having studied privately with Adam Rogers, Peter Bernstein, Alex Sipiagin, John Scofield and more. Owen can be seen
performing locally in New York City with various jazz groups.
Originally from the Bay Area, Owen studied and performed in UC Berkeley's jazz ensembles and California Jazz Conservatory. Mentors in the past have included Jeff Massanari, Dann Zinn,
Steve Erquiaga, Bob Ross, Myra Melford, and Ted Moore. He also attended the SIM (School for Improvisational Music) Summer Intensive at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. In 2019, Owen was a semi-finalist for the international Wilson Center Jazz Guitar Competition. Owen began music at the age of five, studying classical violin and playing in local symphony orchestras in San Diego. In 2009, he was featured as a guitar soloist for the San Diego Young Artists Orchestra to play “Canon Rock”, the original tune that inspired him to pick up the guitar.
For music booking inquiries, event booking for a jazz trio or quartet, lessons, or collaborations, send an email to music.owenchen@gmail.com .