Kelly Tang

Kelly Tang
Background information
Born	1961 Singapore
Genres	Classical, Jazz, Film Score, Popular
Occupation(s)	Composer, Educator
Years active	1982–present

Kelly Tang (born 1961) is a Singaporean composer known internationally for his wind band, chamber and orchestral works. For his contributions to the local music scene, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011.^[1]

Early life

Tang's love for music began at an early age. He started piano lessons at age six, and later played the tuba in his secondary school band. The young Tang did not find the tuba particularly interesting to play as there were not usually many parts in a musical composition that involved the instrument. However, this lack of activity turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it gave him the opportunity to observe what the other musicians in the band were doing and how all the parts fit together in a musical composition.

Tang began writing music even as a student. His interest in music grew and he went on to helm a Christian gospel pop group. He also played bass guitar while in Anglo-Chinese Junior College and later on in the army band.

Education

Tang enrolled at York University in Toronto, Canada with the support of his parents. In 1982, during his first year as an undergraduate at York, Tang met and was greatly influenced by Srul Irving Glick, his first music composition teacher. He was awarded his master’s degree in composition by Northwestern University in 1991, and received his PhD in Music at Michigan State University in 1995.^[2]

Career

Tang's compositions have been performed by world-renowned ensembles such as the Russian National Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Minguett Quartet (Germany) and the Ensemble Contemporain of Montreal. In Singapore, his music is regularly performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and T’ang Quartet.

In Asia, Tang’s orchestral works have been performed by the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Thai Navy Orchestra, Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra and Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra. His choral works have been sung by the Gaia Philharmonic Chorus (Japan), Windsbacher Knabenchor (Germany), Singapore Youth Choir and Calvin College Capella (USA). His wind band scores have been performed by Queensland Conservatorium Wind Orchestra (Australia), Desford Colliery Brass Band (UK), Philharmonic Winds and Singapore Armed Forces Central Band with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band.

Tang's compositions have been performed at prestigious venues worldwide including Carnegie Hall, Vienna Musikverien, Berlin Konzerthaus, Auditorium di Milano, Museum of Musical Instruments, The Rodahal, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Sydney Opera House. In Asia, his music has been presented at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, Tokyo Opera City, Suntory Hall, Hanoi Opera House, Aksra Theatre, Cultural Centre of the Philippines, Esplanade Concert Hall, Suzhou Arts & Culture Center, Zijing Grand Theatre (Nanjing), Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Shanghai Concert Hall.

In 1996, Tang scored the music for the Australian feature film “Feet Unbound: Women Of The Long March”, which has screened at major film festivals in Europe, America and Asia.^[3] His Jazz compositions have been performed by pianist Jeremy Monteiro with Grammy® recipients Ernie Watts (saxophone) and Randy Brecker (trumpet). Tang’s music has been commissioned for the Singapore Arts Festival (2000), Shanghai International Spring Festival (2014) and Esplanade Theatres By The Bay’s Tenth Anniversary Celebrations (2012). His works have been featured at the Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) and World Association of Symphonic Bands & Ensembles (WASBE) international conferences.

Through
 the
 annual
 Singapore
 Youth
 Festival,
 Tang’s
 music
 is
 performed
 each
 year
 by
 thousands 
of 
students 
in
 school
 choirs
 and
 wind
 bands.
 His
 compositions 
are
 taught
 as 
part
 of
 the
 Ministry
 of
 Education’s
 music
 curriculum,
 and
 he
 continues
 to
 mentor
 young
 composers
 and
 conduct
 composition
 workshops
 at
 schools
 and 
colleges
 across
 Singapore.

Since
 1996,
 he 
has 
served 
as
 Associate
 Professor
 of
 Music
 at
 Nanyang
 Technological 
University’s
 National
 Institute
 of 
Education.

 In
 November
 2011,
 he
 took 
on
 a
 new
 role
 as 
Dean
 at 
School 
of 
the 
Arts. ^[4][5]

Awards

In
 2008,
 Tang was
 conferred
 the 
COMPASS
 Artistic 
Excellence 
Award
 by
 the 
Composers
 and
 Authors 
Society
 of 
Singapore.
 For his contributions to the local music scene, Tang was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2011, the highest award for the arts in Singapore.

See also

• Jeremy Monteiro

References