SHORT BIO

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The music of Chen Zhangyi has been described by BBC Radio 3 as “music from a voice of the future” and “a breath of fresh air on our musical landscape” by The Straits Times.

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Nature is often a source of inspiration in Chen Zhangyi's music, for instance, in the violin concerto Vanda, orchestral works Rain Tree and Of An Ethereal Symphony, as well as the keyboard works Walks on Water, and Clima. The other strand of his musical output features the representation of Singaporean (and Asian) culture, as seen in the chamber opera cycle A Singapore Trilogy (Laksa Cantata, Window Shopping, and Kopi For One), the Nanyang-inflected Kampung Spirit, Twin Cinema for string nonet, and the 'Triple' Concerto for Erhu, Ruan and Percussion. His music may be heard on United Records, Centaur Records and Naxos Records. 

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As an educator, Zhangyi currently teaches Analysis and Composition at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (YST). Through his module 'Text and Music', Zhangyi has co-curated (with Dr. Sara Florian) several creative projects in collaboration with the Asian Civilisations Museum: Waves and Waves (2020), Suite Ensemble (2021), and Zoomorphic Muses (2022). As a performer, Zhangyi had led the YST new music ensemble OpusNovus (2016-2018), and he also plays viola with Red Dot Baroque.

Zhangyi read music at YST (Bmus), and Peabody Institute (MM, DMA). 

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