Sinyan Shen

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Sinyan Shen is an American physicist and classical composer. Born in Shanghai, Sin-yan Shen studied music at very early age, mastering the vertical fiddle family of instruments. His dual career in music and physics culminated in the development of cultural acoustics, a discipline addressing scientifically the cultural molding of our ears and brain when it comes to music. Shen's life-long work centers on the question of "what music really is?"

Shen taught cultural acoustics at Northwestern University and Harvard University. He is currently Music Director of The Silk and Bamboo Ensemble and the Chinese Classical Orchestra, both touring internationally under the auspices of the Chinese Music Society of North America. He is editor of the international journal Chinese Music, music authority for the Encyclopedia Britannica, and a Fulbright Scholar. He serves as Technical advisor to the Shanghai Musical Instruments Factory.

His major works include A Tune of Southern Anhui (silk and bamboo ensemble), Moon over the Western Water (silk and bamboo ensemble), Lily Blossoms Crimson and Bright (arrangement for the Chinese classical orchestra), The Stream (vocal) and many works for large orchestras. He is the author of What Makes Chinese Music Chinese?, Foundations of the Chinese Orchestra, Acoustics of Ancient Chinese Bells, Chinese Music and Orchestration: A Primer on Principles and Practice, China: A Journey Into Its Musical Arts, Chinese Musical Instruments, and many other popular text books making the study of music, musical performance and Chinese music completely accessible.

Selected Orchestrations by Shen Sinyan

• A Tune of Southern Anhui,
• Moon over the Western Water,
• Lily Blossoms Crimson and Bright,
• The Stream,
• Clouds and Mists over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers (XiaoXiang ShuiYun),
• Wild Geese Descending on the Sandy Shores,
• Ambush on All Sides,
• Wailful Wrath by the River (Jiang He Shui),
• Music at Sunset,
• Flower and Moon over the Spring River,
• Days of Emancipation,
• By the Qiantang River,
• Listen to the Pine,
• The Moon on High,
• The Dance of Yao,
• Song North of the Border (Sai Shang Qu),
• Galloping on the Prairie,
• Ma-An Mountain Overture,
• Moon Over the Mountain Pass,
• The Moon Mirrored in Erquan,
• Jasmine Blossom,
• Birds Return to the Woods,
• Moderately Embellished Six Measures,
• Wedding Processional,
• Purple Bamboo Melody,
• Unforgettable Water Splashing Festival,
• Spring at the Emerald Lake,
• Rain Falls on the Plantains,
• The Little Cowherd,
• Plum Blossom (Meihua Sannong),
• The Great Wall,
• Fishing Song of the East China Sea,
• Fantasy on the Sanmen Gorge,
• The Dagger Society Suite,
• Receiving My Kinsmen,
• On the Prairie.

[edit] References

• Gateway to The Chinese Classical Orchestra