"My house is always full of music," Chen says, sitting in her living room, where she practices cello and piano. "I love cello. When you play it, it vibrates against your body and touches your heart. And the sound is so beautiful."

Chen will perform with the Palo Alto Philharmonic Feb. 8 at Spangenberg Theater at Gunn High School in Palo Alto and Feb. 9 at the San José City College theater.

Conducted by Gideon Grau, the symphony concert presents the light opera Poet and Peasant Overture and excerpts from West Side Story. A major presentation is El Salon México by American composer Aaron Copland, who incorporated rhythms of popular American culture into his symphony.

The orchestra has been rehearsing for the upcoming concert. Although her job as an administrator at Stanford University's Asian studies department keeps her busy, Chen makes time for rehearsals.

"Our conductor is very demanding and has high standards," Chen says. "But we don't complain because we all love good music."

Chen has performed with the Palo Alto Philharmonic since its inception in 1988.

"It took several years to build the orchestra up," Chen says. "But we are lucky to have had good players from the very beginning."

Music has been an important part of Chen's life no matter where she goes and what she does. When her study of Mandarin brought her to many Asian countries, she never abandoned her music training.

"When I was in Taiwan, I had to hand my cello from the bus window to the person who picked me up because the bus was so crowded," Chen says. "The difficult part was to ride on a small scooter to the concert. I had to hold my friend with one hand and hold my cello with the other. That was really tough."

Chen says she will play cello as long as she lives. "It takes a lot of muscles to play cello. I play cello instead of going to the gym," Chen says. "My mom is 82. She still plays."

For more information about the Palo Alto Philharmonic, visit www.paphil.org.