Zhou Tian
Name
Zhou Tian
Bio
Grammy-nominated Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian seeks inspiration from different cultures and strives to mix them seamlessly into a musically satisfying combination for performers and audience alike. His music — described as “absolutely beautiful…utterly satisfying” (Fanfare), “stunning” (the Cincinnati Enquirer), and “a prime example of 21st-century global multiculturalism” (Broad Street Review) — has been performed by leading orchestras and performers in the United States and abroad, such as Jaap Van Zweden, Yuja Wang, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. His “Concerto for Orchestra”—commissioned and recorded by the Cincinnati Symphony and Music Director Louis Langrée—earned him a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2018.
Born in 1981, Zhou came of age in a new China marked by economic reforms, and was in the United States by his 19th birthday. Trained at the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School and University of Southern California, he studied with some of America’s finest composers, such as Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Rouse and Stephen Hartke.
Highlights of his 2019/20 season include performances by the New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony, China Philharmonic, Jaap Van Zweden, Thomas Wilkins, Ion Marin, Long Yu, Michael and David Stern, cellist Jian Wang, Chanticleer, and the Shanghai Symphony, where he is the Artist-in-Residence. His new work “Transcend,” commissioned by 13 American orchestras commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, will be performed across the US.
He is associate professor of composition at Michigan State University College of Music.
Born in 1981, Zhou came of age in a new China marked by economic reforms, and was in the United States by his 19th birthday. Trained at the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School and University of Southern California, he studied with some of America’s finest composers, such as Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Rouse and Stephen Hartke.
Highlights of his 2019/20 season include performances by the New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony, China Philharmonic, Jaap Van Zweden, Thomas Wilkins, Ion Marin, Long Yu, Michael and David Stern, cellist Jian Wang, Chanticleer, and the Shanghai Symphony, where he is the Artist-in-Residence. His new work “Transcend,” commissioned by 13 American orchestras commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, will be performed across the US.
He is associate professor of composition at Michigan State University College of Music.
