Zhou Tian [pronounced JOH TEE-en; Zhou is his last name] is associate professor of composition at Michigan State University College of Music.
Grammy-nominated 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” — has been performed by leading orchestras and performers in the United States and abroad, such as Jaap Van Zweden, Yuja Wang, the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Chanticleer, and Shanghai Symphony, where he was the Artist-in-Residence for the 2019/20 season. 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 into a musical family in the 1980s in Hangzhou, 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, the Juilliard School, and the University of Southern California, he studied with some of America’s finest composers, such as Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Rouse, and Stephen Hartke.
His recent premieres include “Gift” by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Long Yu; “Transcend” by a consortium of 13 American orchestras commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion; “Concerto for Orchestra” and “Trace” by the Cincinnati Symphony; Cello Concerto by Jian Wang with the Hangzhou Philharmonic and the Singapore Symphony; Violin Concerto by violinists Caroline Goulding and Chloë Hanslip; “Viaje” by flutist Mimi Stillman and the Dover Quartet. His band work “Petals of Fire” has been performed by leading universities in the US. For a complete list of works and sound/video samples please visit ZhouTianMusic.com
Composition
Violin Concerto