Tan Dun

Tan Dun was born on August 18, 1957, in Simaochong, Changsha, Hunan Province. He is a Chinese-American composer and conductor.

In 1979, he created his first symphonic work, “Li Sao”. In 1983, he won an international composition award with the symphony “Feng Ya Song”. In 1989, he released the work “Nine Songs” performed with self-made musical instruments and released his debut album “Nine Songs” the following year. In 1993, he released the album “Snow in June”. In 1995, he became a judge of the Munich International Music Theatre Competition. In 1997, he composed “Heaven, Earth, and Man” for the return of Hong Kong to China and released the album “Ghost Opera”. In 1999, he won the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition with the opera “Marco Polo”. In 2001, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. In 2002, he received four nominations at the 44th Grammy Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. In 2006, he released the soundtrack album “The Banquet”.

In 2008, he composed the music for the logo and the award ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. In 2010, he served as the Global Cultural Ambassador for the Shanghai World Expo in China and composed the Chinese and English theme songs for the Shanghai World Expo. In 2011, he was selected to be in the “People Chapter” of the “China National Image Film” produced by the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. In the same year, he released the album “Martial Arts Trilogy” and launched the global tour of the “Martial Arts Trilogy”. In 2012, he won the Shostakovich Music Award in Russia. In 2016, he composed the original symphony “Ignite the Dream in Your Heart” for Shanghai Disneyland and held the “Tan Dun Music Week” in Germany. In 2017, he won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale. On July 1, 2019, he began serving as the dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music in the United States. In 2022, he was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 50th Istanbul International Music Festival. In 2023, he served as the Hong Kong Cultural Promotion Ambassador.