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The Leonidas Kavakos Project
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.
Visions of Humanity and Unity Project
A consortium of orchestras and festivals, in partnership with cellist Zuill Bailey, has commissioned Visions of Humanity and Unity, a multi-composer project commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The project features new works by Mark O’Connor, Avner Dorman, Enrico Chapela, Zhou Tian, and Chanda Dancy.
The complete work, which includes Zhou’s Elegy (for cello and strings), will receive its world premiere on 8 August 2026, with Zuill Bailey as soloist and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Eckart Preu.
The consortium comprises the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Classics Northwest, El Paso Pro Musica, Fairbanks Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Mesa Arts Center, Sitka Festival, South Carolina Philharmonic, and Spokane Symphony.
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.
Thomas Søndergår's Metropolis
Thomas Søndergård and the Minnesota Orchestra gave the Midwest premiere of Zhou Tian’s Metropolis on 1 May 2026 as part of the orchestra’s Listening Project, an initiative dedicated to presenting and recording outstanding performances of music by underrepresented composers.
Double the strings, double the power
Acclaimed violinist Feng Ning and Diyang Mei, First Principal Viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker, performed Zhou Tian’s Double Concerto with the Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yi Huang on 18 April 2026 in Hangzhou, China.
Concerto for Orchestra in Spain
Spain’s ADDA Simfònica, conducted by Darrell Ang, performed Zhou Tian’s Concerto for Orchestra on 28 November 2025 in Alicante. The performance marked the second Spanish orchestra, following the Basque National Orchestra, to present the Grammy-nominated work.
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.
Artist in Focus
Zhou Tian appointed as the inaugural Artist in Focus by the Chamber Philharmonia of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music in Hangzhou, China. Under the direction of Music Director Junping Qian, the newly formed orchestra will present two all-Zhou Tian programs during the 2025/26 season.
2024-2025 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 Orchestras, and Eastman Symphony (Gift); the Baltimore Symphony and Guangzhou Symphony (Metropolis); Noah Bendix-Balgley, Shanshan Yao and the Hangzhou Philharmonic (Double Concerto); 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); Young Concert Artists, Jasper Quartet (Viaje); Curtis on Tour (Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs); and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Sinfonia). Zhou’s works for band continued to enjoy widespread performances by university ensembles across the United States.
Curtis on Tour: Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs
GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist and Curtis faculty member Jason Vieaux, internationally renowned violist and Curtis president and CEO Roberto Díaz (Viola ’84), and emerging professional artists from Curtis present a program that includes Zhou’s commissioned work Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs across the US in 2024-25.
REVIEW
“Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs is a lot of fun to hear, and looked like fun to play too. It asks the musicians to emulate Chinese folk instruments and recall traditional Chinese melodies and scales, all set amid lush Western classical harmonies. With apparent ease Mr. Díaz drew from his viola the spirit of an erhu. The score calls on all four instruments to use nontraditional techniques to evoke the sound world of Chinese folk. Filled with equal parts flow and anxiety, it was a surprising delight.”
—Jon Sobel, Blogcritics
Rave review on Night-Shining White
“The most impressive work of the afternoon [at the New World Symphony] was a short piece for brass quintet called Night-Shining White by composer Zhou Tian. Inspired by a Tang dynasty ink painting of a white horse, the work showcases the instruments’ rich sonic capabilities: expansive lyricism, impetuous rhythmic drive, and bright as well as beefy brass sonorities…The ensemble displayed an astounding expressive range, aided by their impeccable intonation and remarkable ability to match each other’s timbre.”
—South Florida Classical Review
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.
Transcend at New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic conducted by Long Yu gave the New York premiere of Transcend at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center on 20 February 2024. Commissioned by 13 American orchestras, the piece commemorates of the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.
New Recording: Sinfonia
World premiere recording of Sinfonia released by Signum Records. Baylor University Wind Ensemble conducted by Eric Wilson.
Rave reviews on FLUTE CONCERTO recording
Rave reviews for the world premiere recording of Flute Concerto, released on ASPIRE: “The President’s Own” at 225, with Mimi Stillman as the soloist and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra conducted by Col. Jason K. Fettig.
“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
“Zhou’s gift for melody was apparent from the first movement, entitled ‘Irises,’ opening with an impressionistic-like canvas of lush orchestral sounds and floating themes for the flute, followed by a section of nonstop virtuosities…Above all, the concerto was a real showpiece for this flutist, who soared effortlessly through its wide-ranging melodies, runs and trills. The second movement, ‘Capriccio,’ was a scherzo, with syncopated, slightly jazzy rhythms. Stillman played with mesmerizing artistry in the slow movement, ‘Arioso,’ offering a breathtaking display of arpeggios and communicating with beautiful tone. The movement built to a sumptuous climax. The finale, a ‘Toccata,’ was vibrant and driving.”
—Cincinnati Business Courier
World Premiere: Cadence
Galvin Quartet gave world premiere of Cadence for cello quartet at Merkin Hall in New York.
“Commissioned in partnership with Concert Artists Guild, it represents part of the quartet’s effort to expand the repertoire for this particular instrumentation while exploring diverse cultural backgrounds that connect with theirs. Exciting and colorful, it brought out the oneness of sound that this quartet can achieve, whether playing in harmony or in rapid alternation, while also exploring a wide range of sonorities. From lyrical moments to more dazzling perpetual motion sections, the piece and the performers were captivating.”
—New York Concert Review
world premiere: hidden grace
Formosa Trio gave the world premiere of Hidden Grace at Colburn School in Los Angeles. Commissioned by The American Harp Society and University of Kentucky, the work was inspired by a trip to Italy.
New Recording Earns Gramophone five-star review
Strange how we can walk (in LA) released in the new album On a Clear Day by Chanticleer. The song is part of the cycle 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
S/S23 ORCHESTRAL HIGHLIGHTS
Spring/summer 2023 will see orchestral performances from the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and London Philharmonic (Gift); Cincinnati Symphony (The Palace of Nine Perfections), San Francisco Symphony (Transcend), Allentown Symphony (Flute Concerto), and Mannes Orchestra (Concerto for Orchestra); Shanghai Symphony (Rise), National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra (Broken Ink), Guangzhou Symphony (Metropolis). Additionally, Guangzhou Symphony Youth Orchestra tours Spain and Switzerland, becoming one of the few guest orchestras at the prestigious Verbier Festival (Metropolis).
world premiere: metropolis
Guangzhou Symphony and Music Director Long Yu gave world premiere of Metropolis, commissioned on the occasion of orchestra’s 65th anniversary. Metropolis is a concert opener that teems with lyricism and rhythmic vitality, all within 10 minutes. Inspired by a poem from Tang dynasty describing the sumptuous metropolitan city of Southern Yue (Guangzhou today) titled Remembering a Thousand Years of Yue, the piece explores the intersection between cultures, reflecting my own upbringing.
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, among others.
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.
SINFONIA WINS 2022 SOUSA-ABA-OSTWALD AWARD
Sinfonia for wind ensemble was selected as the 2022 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. The 20-minute work was jointly commissioned by 13 leading university bands in the US.
Zhou Tian became the first Asian-American to win the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award in its 66-year history.
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.