Chin Ting Chan

The music of composer Patrick Chin Ting CHAN (b. 1986) is motivated by a search for an expression of the free minds that cannot be described, but imagined. It stems from a distrust of the human senses. It is often inspired by abstract patterns he discovers in daily objects, as well as imaginary landscapes and human interactions, but it depicts the subjects from unexpected perspectives, allowing listeners to reimagine their surroundings.

Chan grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States in 2003. He has been featured in events including Ars Electronica, IRCAM's ManiFeste, ISCM World Music Days, UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, and Venice Art Biennale, among others. He has held residencies and commissions from organizations such as Charlotte Street Foundation, Hong Kong Composers' Guild, Music Teachers National Association, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He has worked with ensembles such as City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Ensemble intercontemporain (France), Ensemble Metamorphosis (Serbia), eighth blackbird (U.S.), Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Mivos Quartet (U.S.), and New York New Music Ensemble, with performances in venues such as Staatstheater Darmstadt, Seoul Arts Center, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, National Sawdust, and in more than thirty countries.

Awards and other recognition include those from the American Prize, ASCAP, Association for the Promotion of New Music, Foundation Destellos, The EAR Classical, Foundation for Modern Music, Interdisciplinary Festival for Music and Sound Art – Shut Up and Listen!, Lin Yao Ji Music Foundation of China, loadbang, MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, newEar, New-Music Consortium, Semaine international de la musique électroacoustique, Soli fan tutti Composition Prize, Utah Arts Festival, WOCMAT International Phil Winsor Computer Music Competition, and others. His recordings appear in albums with ABLAZE, Darling, Empirica, Navona, New Focus, Phasma-Music, Ravello, and RMN Classical labels. His scores are published through BabelScores and Universal Edition.

Chan is also an active performer and improviser of accordion, guqin, as well as live electronics via a Eurorack modular system and other custom interfaces on the computer. He is currently an Associate Professor of Music Composition at Ball State University. He holds degrees from the University of Missouri–Kansas City (D.M.A.), Bowling Green State University (M.M.), and San José State University (B.M.). His primary teachers include Chen Yi, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, Marilyn Shrude, and Brian Belet.