Tan Zi Hua
Photo Credit: Bernard McDonell
Zihua Tan is a Malaysian-born Canadian-based composer whose works have been performed in Asia, Europe and North America, at events such as Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt (DE), Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik (DE), Voix nouvelles de Royaumont (FR), the Tongyeong International Music Festival, TIMF (KR), Akademie Schloss Solitude (DE), Inaudita Festival (IT), Neue Musik Nacht, HfMudK Frankfurt (DE), Young Composers in Southeast Asia Competition & Festival (TH), Neue Horizonte at Sinfonieorchester Basel (CH), École d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau (FR), Divertimento Workshop (IT), Accès Arkea (CA), Composit Festival (IT), Studio musikFabrik Project (MY, SG and TH), Beijing International Composers’ Workshop (CN), Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance’s Finale Concert (US), 32nd ACL Festival (JP), and Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival (MY). Some of the ensembles he has worked with include Ensemble Mosaik, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble TIMF, Ensemble SurPlus, Studio musikFabrik, Ensemble L’Arsenale, Divertimento Ensemble, Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, Ensemble Horizonte, Ensemble Schallfeld, Ensemble Arkea, Contempoartensemble, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and the McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has also worked with conductors such as Enno Poppe, Peter Veale, Erich Wagner, Sandro Gorli, Dina Gilbert, Cristian Gort, and Kevin Field.
In 2017, Tan's orchestral work, "at the still point," will be performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. In the past, he has won several grants and awards, including the "Goethe Award" at TIMF (with his piece, "Walking on the Mångata"), as well as other prizes at Accès Arkea, the Young Composers in Southeast Asia Competition & Festival, HSBC Young Composers Competition, and the Ton de Leeuw International Composition Competition.
Tan has been involved in a number of collaborative projects, including with the butoh dancer, Lee Swee Keong, as well as with the dance studio of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Over the years, he has also been exploring the sonic possibilities of non-Western - such as guzheng and gayageum - and unconventional instruments. He began exploring theatrical, situational and spatial elements in "Silent Spring" for six percussions - written as part of the residency programme at McGill - and "remnants present," a solo percussion piece written for Noam Bierstone. At present, thanks to an award from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, he's collaborating with Karen Yu (percussionist) and Kenny Wong (kinetic sculpture artist) on an interdisciplinary project.
Tan is one of the founding members of the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC). He serves as the secretary of SMCC and, together with his colleagues, is active in organizing contemporary music events in Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region.
Currently, Tan is a lecturer and a doctoral student at McGill University, studying under the tutelage of John Rea. Among the composers from whom he has taken lessons include Philippe Leroux, Brian Ferneyhough, Chaya Czernowin, Johannes Schöllhorn, Tristan Murail, Stefano Gervasoni, Rebecca Saunders, Michael Jarrell, Allain Gaussin, Francesco Filidei, Yann Robin, Ming Tsao, Dmitri Kourliandski, Chen Yi and James Mobberley. Prior to becoming a composer, he worked as a semiconductor design engineer. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Tan is perpetually intrigued by the impermanent and non-dualistic nature of being, as well as the strength of fragility.
WEBSITE http://www.zihuatan.com/
SOUNDCLOUD https://soundcloud.com/zihuatan
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/user/noiseofnature
In 2017, Tan's orchestral work, "at the still point," will be performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award. In the past, he has won several grants and awards, including the "Goethe Award" at TIMF (with his piece, "Walking on the Mångata"), as well as other prizes at Accès Arkea, the Young Composers in Southeast Asia Competition & Festival, HSBC Young Composers Competition, and the Ton de Leeuw International Composition Competition.
Tan has been involved in a number of collaborative projects, including with the butoh dancer, Lee Swee Keong, as well as with the dance studio of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Over the years, he has also been exploring the sonic possibilities of non-Western - such as guzheng and gayageum - and unconventional instruments. He began exploring theatrical, situational and spatial elements in "Silent Spring" for six percussions - written as part of the residency programme at McGill - and "remnants present," a solo percussion piece written for Noam Bierstone. At present, thanks to an award from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, he's collaborating with Karen Yu (percussionist) and Kenny Wong (kinetic sculpture artist) on an interdisciplinary project.
Tan is one of the founding members of the Society of Malaysian Contemporary Composers (SMCC). He serves as the secretary of SMCC and, together with his colleagues, is active in organizing contemporary music events in Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region.
Currently, Tan is a lecturer and a doctoral student at McGill University, studying under the tutelage of John Rea. Among the composers from whom he has taken lessons include Philippe Leroux, Brian Ferneyhough, Chaya Czernowin, Johannes Schöllhorn, Tristan Murail, Stefano Gervasoni, Rebecca Saunders, Michael Jarrell, Allain Gaussin, Francesco Filidei, Yann Robin, Ming Tsao, Dmitri Kourliandski, Chen Yi and James Mobberley. Prior to becoming a composer, he worked as a semiconductor design engineer. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Tan is perpetually intrigued by the impermanent and non-dualistic nature of being, as well as the strength of fragility.
WEBSITE http://www.zihuatan.com/
SOUNDCLOUD https://soundcloud.com/zihuatan
YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/user/noiseofnature
