Tan Dun Accomplishments

The Life and Accomplishments of Tan Dun
Tan Dun was born in the village of Changsha in the China ruled Hunan province August 18th, 1957. Tan Dun was raised by his grandmother in Hunan, where they have a very distinct Shamanistic culture. Shamanistic culture is very nature bound. The culture of his village portrays a very influential part in how he plans to create his music and make it unique to peoples’ ears. The secret to success in the music industry is to compose the music you think will stand out and influence peoples’ minds and life’s, and Tan Dun is a perfect example of this. As he journeyed throughout his young life, he was mentored greatly by his father, Tan Xiang Qui. Just before age nine, Tan Dun began his interest in music and learned to play instruments such as the Bamboo Flute and the ‘erhu’ string fiddle. After Dun turned nine years old, his teacher furthered his musical education by providing him with his very own decrepit violin that only
Tan Dun then went on to compose his very own first symphony “Li Sao” at just age twenty-two. This symphony won him a special prize at the first National Symphonic Competition. Following this accomplishment came his one of the most influential parts of his growing popularity of music. Tan Dun composed a string quartet named “Feng Ya Song” that “won the Weber Prize from Dresden, making Tan the first Chinese composer to win an international prize since the Communist Revolution of 1949.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tan-dun-mn0000313685/biography). Tan Dun went on to compose many more songs. His first internationally known works was called “On Taoism” and was one of his many well-known compositions throughout his career. Shortly following after, Columbia University handed Tan Dun a fellowship a year after the composition of “On