Qian Chen

Born in Guiyang, China, Qian Chen began violin lessons with his father at the age of three and started playing piano at the age of four. At seventeen, he worked as a pianist for the City Song and Dance Ensemble of Guiyang. In 1981, he was recruited by the composition department of Sichuan Conservatory of Music and became a student of Professor Huwei Huang.

Currently, he is resident composer for the Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. His range of works cover symphonic music, chamber music, and music for television and film. He is recognized for the advancement of wind instrument composition, developing new techniques to make wind instruments more expressive. Among his works are Symphonies No. 1, No. 2, No.3, and No. 4 for the wind band; Fissure Double Concerto for trumpet and symphony band; Crazy man Concerto for Flute and Wood band; Exploits, a symphonic overture for the wind band; and a large number of other pieces for the jazz Big Band.

His works have been performed in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. In 1997, he was honored with a concert of all wind music at the Beijing Concert Hall, which was the first of its kind in China. He believes that New Concepts and new techniques will lead to the creating of a style that will bring together modern music and the ancient civilization.