Sid Chen

Since 2004 Monsieur C— has been the Master of Ceremonies at The Standing Room. M. C— and his blague have appeared on NPR and in other old-school media outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Symphony magazine, Gramophone, and the New York Times (albeit obliquely). Speak loudly; he often has headphones on.

M. C— is also the impish, cartoonish alter ego of Sidney Chen, who moved from New York to San Francisco in 1997. Sidney is a founding member of The M6: Meredith Monk Music Third Generation, a vocal sextet dedicated to continuing the legacy of legendary composer/singer/director Meredith Monk. In 2006 he made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Dolmen Music in Zankel Hall as part of the Meredith Monk Young Artists Concert. He regularly appears with Volti, a 20-voice professional choir that has the distinction of being the only chorus ever to receive five Adventurous Programming Awards from ASCAP. He has sung throughout the Bay Area in situations too numerous (and sometimes too embarrassing) to detail, ranging from solo appearances with local orchestras to vocal improvisation in art galleries to doo-wop in outdoor malls. He's performed in just about every major house of worship in town, for religious services of all stripes. He thankfully has never taken a gig where he has had to dress as a singing animal.

During the day, Sidney can usually be found at his standing desk in the offices of the Kronos Quartet, where he is the intrepid Grammy-award-winning ensemble's artistic administrator, trying to get more engaging and thought-provoking music out into the world. At night he's often standing at the rail at the Opera House, taking advantage of the best bargain in town.

If you fail to find him in either of these places, he's probably looking for parking.

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The Mailing Room
P.O. Box 641942
San Francisco, CA 94164

The Standing Room is a personal blog, and does not represent any of M. C— employers.