Tan Dun

The world renowned artist Tan Dun, following in the footsteps of his musical icons composer and conductor’s Mahler and Bernstein, has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of art. A winner of today's most prestigious honors including the Grammy Award, Oscar/Academy Award, Grawemeyer Award for classical composition, Musical America's Composer of The Year, Bach Prize and Shostakovich Award, Tan Dun's music has been played throughout the world by leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on the radio and television. As a conductor, Tan Dun has led the world's most esteemed orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France and NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan, and has recently been named Honorary Chair of the Carnegie Hall China Advisory Council. As a global cultural leader, Tan Dun is dedicated to the purpose of rediscovering, preserving, and disseminating the world’s vanishing cultures and protecting water and natural resources worldwide. Tan Dun served as “Cultural Ambassador to the World” for World EXPO Shanghai and most recently, UNESCO appointed Tan Dun as its global Goodwill Ambassador. Tan Dun has also recently been appointed as the Honorary Artistic Director of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

Tan Dun’s individual voice has been heard widely by international audiences. Most recently, Tan Dun opened the renowned 56th Venice Art Biennale with his Sound-River installation, and in June conducted La Scala Orchestra at the World Expo Italy. In recent seasons, a new percussion concerto, The Tears of Nature, for soloist Martin Grubinger was co-commissioned by the LA Philharmonic and had its world premiere with the NDR Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women, a symphony for 13 microfilms, harp and orchestra inspired by the secret Nushu calligraphy of Tan Dun’s home province captured a disappearing language on film shot by the composer himself. Tan Dun’s first Internet Symphony, which was commissioned by Google/YouTube, has reached over 15 million people online.