He Xuntian He Xuntian

He Xuntian (simplified Chinese: 何训田; traditional Chinese: 何訓田; pinyin: Hé Xùntián；born in 1952 in Suining, Sichuan) is a distinguished composer, creator of a new musical language and also a music composition professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Biography

He studied music theory by himself from the age of eight and composition followed. In 1982, he graduated from the Composition Department of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
In 1981, he established Three Periods Theory and Theory of Musical Dimension;
In 1982, he developed RD Composition (renyilv duiyingfa Composition), the first compositional method of contemporary China;
In 1993, he established the Five Nons (Non-Western, non-Eastern, non-academic, non-folk, and non-non.) ;
In 1995, Sister Drum was launched, making him the first Chinese composer to have his record released worldwide. This album, together with a number of others including Voices from the Sky, was released in more than 80 countries with a total sales volume of several million copies;
In 1996, he established SS Composition (stream of structure Composition);
In 1997, he put forward Theory of Interspace;
In 1998, he became director of the Composition & Conducting Department at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
In 2003, he composed Images in Sound, which was humanity's first gift of primordial music to all species of the natural world;
In 2008, he produced Ehe Chant, the first work of Preconsciousness Music in human history.

He has received 15 international composition awards, including the Outstanding Musical Achievement Award of the International New Music Composer Competition USA 1989-1990; 13 national composition awards, including the First Prize at the Third All-China Music Competition.

His works have been published globally by a number of international publishing companies, including Warner Music Group and Schott Music; and premiered and performed worldwide by many leading orchestras and ensembles, including BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and The Israel Symphony Orchestra.

He is known for his compositions done for Dadawa, whose breakthrough was Sister Drum - an international bestseller that sold more than 2 million copies. He has been collecting Tibetan music for twenty years and this has heavily influenced his compositions.

Awards

• International New Music Composer Competition - The Outstanding Musical Achievement Award in USA (1989-1990)
• The Gold Tripod Award in Taiwan (1995)

Major works

Theory

• Three Periods Theory 三时说 (1981)
• Theory of Musical Dimension 音乐維度论 (1981)
• RD Composition RD作曲法 (1982)
• Five Nons 五非说 (1993)
• SS Composition 结构流作曲法 (1996)

Poems

• Believer 信徒 (1993)
• Paradise Inferno 天堂地狱 (1993)
• Himalayans 喜玛拉雅人 (1995)
• Ballad of Lhasa 拉萨谣 (1995)
• Seven Drums 七只鼓 (1995)
• Ox Cart 牛车 (1997)
• Flown Away 不翼而飞 (1997)
• Flash of Enlightenment 三托历 (1997)
• In the Setting of the Sun 夕阳西下 (1997)
• Already Song 了歌 (1998)
• Fragrant Nirvana Tree 伽南香娑罗树 (1999)
• Passing By the Earth 路过地球 (1999)
• Mystical Scent 神香 (2006)

Chinese Orchestra

• Dabo River Caprice, Chinese orchestra 达勃河随想曲 (1982)

Chamber Music

• Two of the Earthly Branches, string quartet 两个时辰 (1983)
• Phonism I, 10 performers 幻听 I (1989)
• Phonism II, 9 performers 幻听 II (1990)
• FuSe Pattern (trio), 3 performers 拂色图 (1997)
• Scent Dance I, clarinet solo 香之舞 I (2009)
• Scent Dance II, violoncello solo 香之舞 II (2010)
• Scent Dance III, string quartet 香之舞 III (2011)
• Whirling Udumbara II (trio), viola, violoncello and he-drum 优昙波罗旋转舞 II (2012)
• Whirling Peach Blossom, violin, viola and he-drum 桃花旋转舞 (2015)

Piano Music

• FuSe Pattern 拂色图 (1997)
• Rupa Dance, piano concerto 色之舞 (2009)
• Scent Dance IV 香之舞 IV (2012)
• Whirling Udumbara II 优昙波罗旋转舞 II (2012)
• Whirling Udumbara I 优昙波罗旋转舞 I (2013)
• Whirling Papaver 米囊旋转舞 (2014)
• Whirling Peach Blossom 桃花旋转舞 (2015)
• Cherry Prayer 樱桃祈祷文 (2015)

Orchestral Music

• Tonal Patterns, symphony 平仄 (1985)
• Four Dreams, electric erhu and orchestra 梦四则 (1986)
• Telepathy, symphony 感应 (1987)
• Pipa Pattern, string orchestra and woodwind 琵琶图 (2001)
• Clouds Rising Into the Lotus Flowers, soprano and orchestra 云上莲花 (2008)
• Rupa Dance, piano concerto 色之舞 (2009)
• Sunyata Dance, clarinet concerto 空之舞 (2011)
• Whirling Udumbara II, string orchestra and he-drum 优昙波罗旋转舞 II (2012)

Unconventional Instruments

• Sounds of Nature, unconventional Instruments, seven performers 天籁 (1986)
• Images in Sound, unconventional Instruments 声音图案 (1997-2003)
  • MiLi Pattern 秘厘图
  • FuSe Pattern 拂色图
  • MiYi Pattern 弥泆图
  • FuXiang Pattern 浮香图
  • MiGuo Pattern 密果图
  • FuYi Pattern 弗意图
  • MiFu Pattern 靡符图

Preconsciousness Music

• Ehe Chant, preconsciousness music 一訸上歌 (2008)

Film Music

• Warrior Lanling, film music 兰陵王 (1995)
• Prince of the Himalaya, film music 喜马拉雅王子 (2006)

Multimedia Music

• The Riddler, musical theatre 迷哥 (2001)
• Leifeng Pagoda Music Ceremony 雷峰夕照音乐大典 (2002)
• The Sign, Internet game music 神迹 (2003)
• Eulogy of Lingshan Lucky, music ceremony 灵山吉祥颂 (2009)

• Forever Shanghai, the Shanghai Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai 永远的新天地 (2010)