A Cincinnatian by way of Taiwan and California, Ixi Chen is a major player in the local music scene, though you probably haven’t seen her perform at Bogart’s or the Madison.

Chen has been playing the clarinet in symphonies, concerts and music festivals all around the globe since first being introduced to the instrument at 11 years old.

Her musical travels have taken her to some of the most notable performance halls in the world, such as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Musikverein in Vienna and Carnegie Hall in New York.

“Aside from these acoustical gems,” Chen says, “the most memorable [performance halls] would be those with historical significance or unique atmosphere—Dvorak Hall in Prague, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, performing for the King and Queen of Egypt in Cairo, old Greek ruins in Thessaloniki or beautiful old schlosses in Germany.”

Chen has played clarinet locally for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra since 2001, is the founder and artistic director of the multimedia collaborative concert:nova and teaches at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

“Because all three of these things are so rewarding in such different ways,” she explains, “it doesn’t feel like I’m going from one job to the next to the next. They balance each other out perfectly at the end of the day.”

Chen pulled together some of her favorite songs, both classical and contemporary, to create an ultimate playlist for A-Line.

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TRACK 1: Arcade Fire, “Keep the Car Running”—“Great music to drive to. Many of the band members play multiple instruments in addition to guitar, bass and drums: accordion, harp, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy.”

TRACK 2: Arvo Part, “Spiegel im Spiegel”—“There’s something about the simplicity and transparency of the texture and chord progression that makes me feel like time stands still.”

TRACK 3: Over the Rhine, “Drunkard’s Prayer”—“I love the voice of Karin Bergquist, plus it’s one of the sexiest songs in existence.”

TRACK 4: The Decemberists, “Culling of the Fold”—“Colin Meloy is a genius. Totally original songwriting.”

TRACK 5: Ben Folds, “The Luckiest”—“A very personal song, and I love the way Ben Folds tells stories.”

TRACK 6: Yo La Tengo, “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House”—“I like the folksy beat thing they’ve got going on.”

TRACK 7: Frank Zappa, The Yellow Shark (full album)—“Zappa is one of the most underrated talents of the 20th Century! concert:nova is doing a program of Zappa next season.”

TRACK 8: The Shins, “Red Rabbits”—“Reminds me of my husband. I don’t know what the hell it’s about, but I like it.”

TRACK 9: Maurice Ravel, “String Quartet in F major”—“Lush, expansive, colorful and totally ravishing. Put it on now.”

TRACK 10: Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”—“The first time I played this was in my junior high school band, but I still love its innocence. Beethoven doesn’t F around. He is giving you something really special.”

TRACK 11: Foo Fighters, “Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners”—“I like this song, plus Dave Grohl is awesome. Can I have his phone number?”

TRACK 12: Franz Schubert, “Trout” Quintet—“Schubert wrote great songs and great chamber music; the two mesh here in endlessly lyrical counterpoint, second only perhaps to his cello quintet.”