Christopher Tin

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Christopher Tin

Born California
Occupation Composer
Years active 2001–
Official website

Christopher Tin is an American composer, best known for his composition "Baba Yetu," featured in the 2004 computer game, Civilization IV.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

[edit] Career

Christopher Tin was born and raised in California.[1] He worked on his undergraduate education at Oxford and Stanford University. At Stanford, he was active in the taiko group,[2] and conducted the a cappella group, Stanford Talisman,[3][4] several musicals,[5] and choral concerts at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[6] While there, he roomed with video game designer Soren Johnson.[7] He graduated in 1998,[5] receiving a BA with Honors in music composition and English literature. He continued to study at Stanford and received an MA in humanities in 1999.[8] He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, becoming the first to be awarded one for film scoring,[9] to study composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, and he graduated with a MMus with Distinction. He was also the winner of the Horovitz composition prize, and graduated with the highest grades in his class.[1] He was also commissioned by the US Embassy in London to compose music for a string quartet.[5] In 2003, he became a Sundance Institute Film Music Lab Fellow.[10]

Tin returned to Los Angeles and continued his career by producing TV show music and working as an intern with Hans Zimmer, composer for The Lion King and Gladiator, and Joel McNeely, whom he worked with on Mulan II.[5] John Ottman contacted him to work on X-Men 2, for which he composed several original themes.[11] He also composed "Daydream" for Apple Inc.'s music software, GarageBand, and the music for an international advertisement of Puma AG. He also worked on TV show music, notably for Nova,[12] The History Channel, and Discovery Channel.[13]

[edit] Baba Yetu

By far his biggest break came in 2005, when Soren Johnson, his roommate at Stanford and now working as a game designer at Firaxis Games, asked him to compose the theme song for Civilization 4. Tin responded with "Baba Yetu," a choral piece performed by Stanford Talisman, with lyrics similar to the Lord's Prayer in Swahili. It garnered a huge critical response, with over 20 reviewers singling out the theme on IGN, GameSpy, and Game Shark,[14] and is a persistent favorite of blog posts.[15] Contemporary Tommy Tallarico called it "incredible".[16] It won him two awards at the GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) Awards in 2007.

He currently lives in Santa Monica, California.[5]

[edit] Works

Although he is most known for "Baba Yetu", Tin has composed music for several other significant clients, including Apple Inc. and Puma AG. Excluding most incidental music, his works include:

  • "Baba Yetu" (Civilization IV, 2005)
  • "Coronation" (—)
  • "Aloha, Lovey and Jerry!" (Fishbowl (dir. Kayo Hatta), 2005)
  • Nocturne No. 2: The Insatiable (The Insatiable, 2006)
  • Goblinesque (1999)
  • Riding Back (Heaven's Devils)
  • The Road To Freedom (MLK Boulevard, 2003)
  • The Myrmidons Attack (First Night Shift)
  • Entering The Past (The Lodge, 2004)
  • Prologue (Battle Plan Under Fire (Nova), 2004)
  • "Daydream" (for Apple Inc.'s GarageBand software)
  • Nocturne No. 1: Night Sings Its Songs (Night Sings Its Songs (Jon Fosse), 1997)

[edit] Awards

  • Horovitz Composition Prize at Royal College of Music
  • GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) Awards: Best Original Vocal Song - Choral ("Baba Yetu"), Rookie of the Year (2007)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Official site, biography
  2. ^ Alumni. Stanford Taiko (2006). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  3. ^ Shoji (2004-11-29). Updates (archives). On Ensemble at Stanford. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  4. ^ The Rhythms and Harmonies of Talisman. Stanford Talisman (2000). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  5. ^ a b c d e Oxfeld, Jesse (2004). Getting in Synch. Stanford Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  6. ^ Official site, resume
  7. ^ PC Zone Staff (2006-07-06). Looking Back... Civilization IV. Computer and video games. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  8. ^ Christopher Tin. Alfred Publishing (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  9. ^ Gautam, Savitha (2003). The `shakti' of sound. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  10. ^ Broadcast Music Incorporated (2003). BMI and Sundance Announce 2003 Composers Lab Fellows. Sundance Institute. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  11. ^ X-Men 2. Gazillion Movies (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  12. ^ Battle Plan Under Fire: TV Program Credits. 'Nova' (April 2004). Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  13. ^ Music Composition. Soundelux DMG (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  14. ^ Official site, press
  15. ^ For example, see: "Sushi Delight" (2005-11-20). Baba Yetu. Once Upon a Dreamer. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.; "Adrian" (2007-03-15). Baba Yetu. Mssv. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.; "Violence Worker" (2006-05-12). Baba Yetu. Violence Worker. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.; "M" (2006-09-20). Baba Yetu. My Flights of Fancy. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.; Pintscher, Lydia (2006-09-20). Baba Yetu. life at the end of the universe. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.; etc.
  16. ^ The Definitive Tommy Tallarico Interview. Music 4 Games (2007-02-20). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Tin, Christopher
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Composer
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH California
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages