“Stunning”
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
“Absolutely beautiful…utterly satisfying”
FANFARE
“Works like…Mr. Zhou’s orchestral piece accomplish two important things: They remind us of how we got from there to here, and they refine that history by paying belated tribute to contributors who might otherwise be forgotten.”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“The musical language was rich, opulent, luxurious, infinitely varied and, at times, profoundly beautiful.”
THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)
NEWS
GRAMMY NOMINATION
Zhou nominated for a 60th Annual GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for his Concerto for Orchestra (listen / hire), making him the first Chinese-born composer honored by the Academy in this category. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Louis Langrée, who commissioned and recorded the work, were also nominated for Best Orchestral Performance.
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PREMIERES “GIFT,” “TRANSCEND”
The New York Philharmonic conducted by Long Yu gave the US premiere of Zhou’s Gift (listen / hire) at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. The orchestra also gave the New York premiere of Transcend (listen / hire), commissioned by 13 American orchestras in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.
“The Philharmonic presented the U.S. premiere of a spectacular new piece by Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian…The piece sustains a concise, beautifully ordered narrative, yet is full of surprises. Long Yuʼs tightly focused direction matched Zhouʼs mastery of the colors of the orchestra, turning the performance into a triumph of musical universality as well as fine writing.”
—Jon Sobel, Blogcritics
NEW COMMISSION FOR LEONIDAS KAVAKOS
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with its 2026/27 Artist-in-Residence, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, has commissioned Zhou Tian to write a new concerto for violin, erhu, and orchestra titled Crossings.
The work will receive its world premiere in January 2027, featuring Leonidas Kavakos and Lu Yiwen as soloists with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Long Yu.
WORLD PREMIERE: SAXOPHONE CONCERTO
From the bold to the lyrical and the playful, Concerto for Alto Saxophone unfolds in three architecturally inspired movements: Concrete Love, Courtyard, and Arcade.
Commissioned by 15 leading university wind ensembles in the US, the piece was premiered at CBDNA North Central Division Conference by Joe Lulloff, solo saxophone, with the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, conducted by Kevin Sedatole.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
The New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Pittsburgh Symphony (Transcend); the Shanghai Symphony, Basque National Orchestra, ADDA Simfònica, Osaka Philharmonic, and Toronto Symphony (Concerto for Orchestra); the London Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Juilliard Orchestras, and Eastman Symphony (Gift); the Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Guangzhou Symphony (Metropolis); Feng Ning and Diyang Mei; Noah Bendix-Balgley and Shanshan Yao with the Hangzhou Philharmonic (Double Concerto); the NCPA Orchestra (Broken Ink); the China Philharmonic (Violin Concerto “Night Tour”); Mimi Stillman with the “President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra (Flute Concerto); Young Concert Artists, Jasper Quartet (Viaje); and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Sinfonia). Zhou’s works for band continued to enjoy widespread performances by university ensembles across the US.
CHICAGO SYMPHONY’S AANHPI SPOTLIGHT
Zhou Tian was featured by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in its list of “10 Composers to Celebrate for AANHPI Heritage.” (AANHPI stands for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.)
The selection highlights several major works, including Concerto for Orchestra, Sinfonia for wind ensemble, Metropolis for orchestra, and the Double Concerto for violin, viola, and chamber orchestra.
WORLD PREMIERE: DOUBLE CONCERTO
Acclaimed violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and violist Shanshan Yao gave the world premiere of the Double Concerto with the Hangzhou Philharmonic, conducted by Music Director Yang Yang, at the orchestra’s 2024/25 season opener.
The concerto begins with Play, where the two solo instruments engage in an energetic dialogue, oscillating between cooperation and playful rivalry. A gentle, melodic Aria follows. The finale, Rendezvous, is a spirited voyage where everyone comes together, only to bid farewell in the same breath.
WORLD PREMIERE: FLUTE CONCERTO
“A REMARKABLE FUSION OF ARTISTIC MASTERY.”
—The Flute View
“A beautiful painting in four scenes…not a single note could be sacrificed. Casual and professional audiences alike will appreciate the beauty of the musical lines, while flutists are guaranteed to love exploring the color possibilities a performer can use to present this concerto…a joyful triumph.”
—The Flutist Quarterly, National Flute Association
Irises. Capriccio. Arioso. Toccata. These are four movements that infuse Zhou’s new Flute Concerto, written for acclaimed flutist Mimi Stillman and commissioned by seven orchestras, including “The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra. A world premiere recording has been released. Also available in a version for flute and piano, titled Irises.
SINFONIA WINS SOUSA-ABA-OSTWALD AWARD
Sinfonia (listen / hire) for wind ensemble was selected as the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award winning composition, organized by the American Bandmasters Association and John Philip Sousa Foundation. Sinfonia seeks inspirations from different cultures and mixes them into four distinctively different movements: Noir, Transit, Arioso, and D-O-N-E. Zhou Tian became the first Asian-American to win the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award in its 66-year history.
NEW RECORDING EARNS GRAMOPHONE FIVE-STAR REVIEW
Strange how we can walk (in LA) released in Chanticleer’s latest album On a Clear Day. The song is part of Trade Winds, commissioned and premiered by the Grammy-winning ensemble.
“The entire programme is delivered with the skilful aplomb one expects from these voices”
—★★★★★, Gramophone
ABOUT
Grammy-nominated Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian (JOH TEE-en) seeks inspiration from different cultures and strives to mix them seamlessly into a musically satisfying combination for performers and audience alike. The Wall Street Journal states his works “accomplish two important things: They remind us of how we got from there to here, and they refine that history by paying belated tribute to contributors who might otherwise be forgotten.”
His music—described as “absolutely beautiful…utterly satisfying” (Fanfare), “stunning” (the Cincinnati Enquirer), and “a prime example of 21st-century global multiculturalism”—has been performed by leading performers and orchestras, such as Jaap van Zweden, Yuja Wang, Manfred Honeck, Long Yu, Noah Bendix-Balgley, the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Dover Quartet, and the Shanghai Symphony, where he recently served as Artist-in-Residence. His Concerto for Orchestra, commissioned and recorded by Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony, earned him a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2018, making him the first Chinese-born composer and the second Asian composer (following Tōru Takemitsu) honored in that category. In 2019, Beijing Music Festival named him “Artist of the Year.” In 2022, he became the first Asian-American composer to win the coveted Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award from the American Bandmasters Association for Sinfonia.
Born into a musical family in Hangzhou, China, Zhou moved to the US when he was 19. Trained at Curtis, Juilliard, and the University of Southern California, he studied with some of America’s finest composers, such as Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Rouse, and Stephen Hartke. He is Professor of Composition at Michigan State University.
Visit the composer’s website for the latest news, media samples, reviews, concert calendar and complete list of works.
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RECENT & UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS
Jaap Van Zweden · Louis Langrée · Manfred Honeck · Long Yu · Thomas Søndergård · Leonidas Kavakos · Noah Bendix-Balgley · Diyang Mei · Zuill Bailey · Feng Ning · Mimi Stillman · New York Philharmonic · London Philharmonic · San Francisco Symphony · Mahler Chamber Orchestra · Pittsburgh Symphony · Cincinnati Symphony · Minnesota Orchestra · Baltimore Symphony · Toronto Symphony · Melbourne Symphony · Juilliard Orchestras · “The President’s Own” US Marine Band · Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra · Shanghai Symphony · NCPA Orchestra (Beijing) · Guangzhou Symphony · Jasper String Quartet · Chanticleer · Aspen Festival · Verbier Festival…