Tan Dun, a multifaceted composer and conductor, has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical and multimedia as well as Eastern and Western musical systems. Tan has composed distinct series of works which reflect his individual compositional concepts, among them a series which brings his childhood memories of shamanistic ritual into symphonic performances, works which incorporate elements from the natural world, and multimedia concerti.

Opera has played a significant role in Tan's creative output over the past decade, mostly recently with the premiere of The First Emperor by the Metropolitan Opera in December 2006 with a title role created for Plácido Domingo. In 2008, Tan composed Internet Symphony No. 1: Eroica commissioned by Google/YouTube as the focal point for the world's first collaborative online orchestra. Recent works include Piano Concerto: The Fire for Lang Lang and the New York Philharmonic; Violin Concerto: The Love, for soloist Lin Cho-liang, and Earth Concerto for Ceramic Percussion and Orchestra. Of his many works for film, Tan's score for Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received an Academy Award in 2001 for best original score.

(Source: U.S.-China Cultural Institute)