Staff & faculty

Chinese composer Tian Qin is known for her music’s compelling, humorous, and visually evocative qualities. She enjoys integrating text, craft, film, and choreography into her compositions, often pushing the boundaries of traditional forms while incorporating her cultural heritage, and focuses on engaging communal experiences.

Her trio Obsessed, featuring traditional Chinese instruments, won second prize in the Yinzhong China National Composition Competition[and was showcased at the 34th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. Tian’s First Name: Last Name:, a mixed ensemble piece commissioned by the Houston Asian American Archive, premiered at the Houston Asia Society with Musiqa. Her viola work NO ‘i think’, NO ‘sorry’ was commissioned by Duo Impetuoso and featured in the Montrose Project. She is the 2024 winner of the American Guild of Organists Student Commissioning Project. Her music has also been performed or workshopped by the Windscape Ensemble, Unheard-of Ensemble, The Rhythm Method, Loadbang, Kenetic, and Roomful of Teeth. Additionally, she is an active member of Gamelan of the New Moon, performing at venues like Jones Hall, Miller Outdoor Theater, and Asia Society across Houston.

Tian Qin graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory (grades 7–12), Manhattan School of Music (BM), and Rice University (MM, Brown Fellowship). She studied composition with Ying Din, Marjorie Merryman, Karim Al-Zand, Shi-hui Chen, and Pierre Jalbert, and piano with Xiangjun Yu and Jiayin Li.

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