Sinyan Shen


Sinyan Shen was a Singaporean physicist and classical composer.

Life

Born in Singapore to the parents of Shanghai background, Sinyan Shen studied music at a very early age and mastered 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 to music. Shen's life work centered on the essence of music.
Shen, who lived in Illinois, taught cultural acoustics at Northwestern University and Harvard University. He was a music director of the Silk and Bamboo Ensemble and the Chinese Classical Orchestra. Both ensembles toured internationally under the auspices of the Chinese Music Society of North America, but have not performed publicly since 2006. Shen was an editor of the international journal Chinese Music, music authority for the Encyclopædia Britannica, and a Fulbright Scholar. He served as a technical advisor for the Shanghai Musical Instrument Factory. He died in Palo Alto, California at the age of 67, several years after suffering a debilitating stroke.

Works

Shen's works include A Tune of Southern Anhui and Moon over the Western Water, Lily Blossoms Crimson and Bright, and The Stream. 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, and China: A Journey Into Its Musical Arts and Chinese Musical Instruments.
Orchestral works performed or recorded by Shen Sinyan:A Tune of Southern AnhuiMoon over the Western WaterLily Blossoms Crimson and BrightThe StreamClouds and Mists over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers Wild Geese Descending on the Sandy ShoresAmbush on All SidesWailful Wrath by the River Music at SunsetFlower and Moon over the Spring RiverDays of EmancipationBy the Qiantang RiverListen to the PineThe Moon on HighThe Dance of YaoSong North of the Border,Galloping on the PrairieMa-An Mountain Overture,Moon Over the Mountain PassThe Moon Mirrored in ErquanJasmine BlossomBirds Return to the WoodsModerately Embellished Six MeasuresWedding ProcessionalPurple Bamboo MelodyUnforgettable Water Splashing FestivalSpring at the Emerald LakeRain Falls on the PlantainsThe Little CowherdPlum Blossom The Great WallFishing Song of the East China SeaFantasy on the Sanmen GorgeThe Dagger Society SuiteReceiving My Kinsmen
  • ''On the Prairie''