This July, Tan Dun took the stage for the Shanghai Summer Air Festival, leading the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Hanggai Band in a program of Symphonic Rock. “Symphonic Rock is a dialogue between symphony and rock ‘n’ roll,” says Tan Dun. “Bach talks to rock, Wagner to Kublai Khan. The music can contain so many different elements, and we’re taking folk to the future.” Tan Dun has collaborated with the Hanggai Band, a Mongolian folk group, ...

On June 27, Tan Dun takes the stage at London’s Cadogan Hall to lead the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with soloist Jing Zhao. The program comprises Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Concerto – with cellist Jing Zhao – and Intercourse of Water and Fire alongside Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Falla’s Danza ritual del fuego.

Tan Dun leads the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in a sold-out concert on May 13, exploring how ancient and modern can mix to create something new. “By using old instruments, re-interpreting ancient scores with a modern orchestra, we are creating a sound map – connecting the old with the new,” says Tan Dun. Tan Dun joins superstar Tan Weiwei for the China premiere of “The Song Lines of China,” and also leads the orchestra in ...

On June 11, Tan Dun’s Percussion Concerto: The Tears of Nature is featured by percussionists Martin Grubinger and Alexander Georgiev at the new Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Tan Dun wrote the concerto for Grubinger, who premiered the piece with the NDR Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Discover the concerto  

On April 20, Tan Dun takes the stage to lead the Singapore Symphony Orchestra at Esplanade Concert Hall. He leads the orchestra in his Concerto for Piano and Peking Opera Soprano, “Farewell My Concubine” and Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds alongside Bartók’s Dance Suite and The Miraculous Mandarin Suite.  

This year, Tan Dun is awarded with the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Board of the Venice Biennale. The award, which will be presented during the 61st International Contemporary Music Festival in the Fall of 2017, honors artists for significant contributions to the world of contemporary music. Tan Dun will receive the award on September 30 at the Teatro alle Tese, when he will be recognized for music and ideas that link ...

This March, Tan Dun leads an educational initiative with the Hong Kong String Orchestra, a professional ensemble in Hong Kong offering an international mentorship program to music graduates. “We live in a very interesting, diverse time – our left leg might be standing on Bach and Beethoven, but our right is set on rock ‘n’ roll and jazz,” Tan Dun notes. “This is very exciting, but we need artist-educators who can focus on making the right ...

On March 31 and April 1, Tan Dun conducts the Juilliard Orchestra in the world premiere performances of his Symphony of Colors: Terracotta at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The piece was commissioned to celebrate the opening of the museum’s Age of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C – A.D. 220). The multimedia symphony showcases Tan Dun’s film footage of the terracotta warriors ...

This March, Tan Dun’s Percussion Concerto: The Tears of Nature is featured by the BBC Philharmonic. The March 12 performance in Essen, Germany, sees conductor Juanjo Mena lead the orchestra alongside percussionist Martin Grubinger.

Tan Dun takes part in festivities to welcome the Year of the Rooster, conducting three orchestras in Lunar New Year celebrations. On January 31, Tan Dun leads the Auckland Philharmonic in his Concerto for Piano and Peking Opera Soprano “Farewell My Concubine” and Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds alongside Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance, and Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird. In Melbourne on February 4, Tan Dun conducts the Melbourne Symphony ...