Zhou Tian
Grammy-nominated Composer
Seeker’s Scherzo from Concerto for Orchestra
Louis Langrée/Cincinnati Symphony
“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
“a prime example of 21st-century global multiculturalism”
—Broad Street Review
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) in spring 2024.
“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
2024-2025 Orchestral Highlights
The New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and Ann Arbor Symphony (Transcend); the Shanghai Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Toronto Symphony (Concerto for Orchestra); the Minnesota Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Bochumer Symphoniker, New Jersey Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Juilliard Orchestra, and Eastman Symphony (Gift); the Baltimore Symphony and Guangzhou Symphony (Metropolis); the China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony (Violin Concerto “Night Tour”); the Portland Symphony (Flute Concerto); the Shanghai Symphony (First Sight); the Hangzhou Philharmonic (Threads, Birthday Fantasia, and Double Concerto for violin and viola); and the acclaimed Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Sinfonia).
World Premiere: double concerto
Acclaimed violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and violist Shanshan Yao gave the world premiere of the Double Concerto (listen / hire) 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 meets each other, only to bid farewell in the same breath.
World Premiere: VIOLIN CONCERTO “Night Tour”
Violin Concerto Night Tour premiered at the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition as the commissioned new work. Considered one of the premier music competitions in the world, with a top prize of US$100,000, the Stern competition boasts a jury that includes renowned violinists such as Maxim Vengerov, Glenn Dicterow, Ning Feng, and Joel Smirnoff.
Night Tour takes listeners on a musical journey into the splendor of the night. The piece draws inspiration from various cultures and aims to seamlessly blend them. Six competition laureates performed the work in six cities around the world: Rino Yoshimoto (Japan), Thomas Lefort (France), Ruifeng Lin (China), Felicitas Schiffner (Germany), Angela Sin Ying Chan (Hong Kong, China), and Shannon Lee (United States).
Night Tour is also available for violin and piano.
World Premiere: FLUTE CONCERTO
“A REMARKABLE FUSION OF ARTISTIC MASTERY.”
—The Flute View
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.
The work is also available in a version for flute and piano, titled Irises.
Sinfonia wins Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award
Zhou Tian became the first Asian-American to win the coveted Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award from the American Bandmasters Association in its 66-year history for Sinfonia.
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 orchestras and performers in the United States and abroad, 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” US Marine Band, and Shanghai Symphony, where he recently served as the 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 (Sinfonia).
Born into a musical family in 1981 in Hangzhou, China, Zhou moved to the United States when he was 19. Trained at the Curtis Institute of Music (B.M.), the Juilliard School (M.M.), and the University of Southern California (D.M.A.), 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.
How do you say ‘Zhou Tian’?
“Stunning”
—THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
“The musical language was rich, opulent, luxurious, infinitely varied and, at times, profoundly beautiful…This was a lovely performance of what deserves to become a classic of the cello concerto repertory.”
—the Straits Times (Singapore)
“He is unafraid of monumental gestures, but at the same time he wastes nothing, whether notes or our time itself…The strings’ luster made me wish I could stop writing and just listen.”
—American Record Guide