Yen-Ming Chen

With great passion, Yen-Ming Chen builds a bridge between his life as professor of electrical engineering, director of the Sirius Harmonica Ensemble
Yen ming chen harmoica fen festival 2025

Yen Ming Chen: researcher, scientist and musician

In Yen Ming Chen’s life, two hearts beat in one breast: science in the field of electrical engineering and music. His first direct contact with music as a 9-year-old piano student is not particularly successful. The learning environment was not very inspiring, he says.

Yen Ming Chen and music
His musical path finally begins when he learns to play the harmonica at high school at the age of 16. He later founds the Sirius Harmonica Ensemble at college. Sirius is the Chinese word for wolf. Until today the wolf is the symbol of the harmonica ensemble that he founded in his school days.  The instrument fascinated him. The timbre is close to the human voice. He can express his emotions effortlessly with the harmonica, says Yen Ming Chen.

Yen Ming Chen and electrical engineering
His second passion is electrical engineering, which became his main subject at college. He is now a professor at the Institute of Electrical Engineering at the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. His research here focuses on the development of reliable baseband signal processing and transmission systems.

Two professions – one challenge
Bringing together both science and music is the challenge in Yen Ming Chen’s life. But he finds a good balance and even sees important connections between academic research and directing his music ensemble Sirius:  “Scientific research, for example, requires rational thinking and analytical skills. This background has helped me to keep a cool head when planning and communicating within the ensemble. On the other hand, the stage experience I have gained through musical performances has helped me to connect more easily with students and the academic community.”

The bridge builder
According to Yen Ming Chen, life between academia and music is difficult to predict. That is precisely what makes it so appealing to him. In any case, he seeks to build a bridge between the two poles. He would like to organise the Taiwan Harmonica Music Festival on his campus and possibly establish it there. His declared aim is to gradually establish the harmonica more and more in the public eye.