Zhiyi Wang
Zhiyi Wang (b.1980) is a multi-award winning composer for contemporary classical and film genres.
Zhiyi’s characteristics of composing reflects all the genres he has touched, with a sophisticated amalgam of Oriental tinctures and Western avant-garde, as well as influenced by classical traditions. He has composed a series of music works in different genres, including contemporary classical, film and TV score, modern ballet, musical, world music and pop music. His works have been performed by leading artists including Yuri Bashmet, Sarah Brightman, Lang Lang, Li-Wei Qin, etc., as well as groups including the China National Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic, NCPA Orchestra, The Orchestra of China National Opera House, The Orchestra of Shanghai Opera House, Brno Philharmonic, China Broadcast Symphony Orchestra, Senzoku Gakuen New Philharmonic, Suzhou Symphony Ochestra, Lviv Chamber Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird, Moscow Soloists, Sound Ways Ensemble, Ensemble Les Amis, ConTempo Quartet, Baroque Camerata, Lemberg Sinfonietta, Villiers String Quartet and many others throughout Asia, North America and Europe.
As a core member of the music crew in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Zhiyi composed various music programs for the Opening Ceremony. His Fanfare for the Ceremony was performed when Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Liu Qi, President of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, entered the stadium to make their opening speeches. His arrangements included four programs: the theme song, You and Me (performed by Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan), the duet song, Dream of the Five Rings, Ritual Music, and Lighting of the Olympic Cauldron. Zhiyi’s immense contribution to the spirit of the Ceremonies has been officially acknowledged by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee. He later transcribed the orchestral version of the Beijing Olympic Theme Song You and Me for the 2012 New Year’s Concert at the China National Centre for the Performing Arts, conducted by Lorin Maazel. Zhiyi is an appointed composer for the Opening Ceremony of 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Exhibitions.
In contemporary domain, Zhiyi has won top prizes from Red Note International Composition Competition, International Alfred Schnittke Composition Competition, Senzoku Gakuen International Composition Competition, Malta International Composition Competition, International Franz Liszt Competition for Composers, International Sergei Slonimsky Composition Competition and International Antonín Dvorák Composition Competition. He was a recipient of the Grawemeyer Fellowship as well as the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Oberlin College. Zhiyi has been Composer-in-Residence at the Shanghai Opera House, the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, Sacrarium International Composers’ Forum in Ukraine and the International Contemporary Arts Academy in Romania. He frequently receives commissions from various orchestras, festivals and organizations. Zhiyi serves as a faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University Global Summer Institute of Music.
Regarding film and TV, Zhiyi composed an original score for the films, But Always and Highway of Love, for which he received the “Discovery of the Year” nomination from the 15th World Soundtrack Awards. In 2017, he garnered the Gold Medal from Global Music Awards for his original film score Dali Holiday. Moreover, he composed the original music and theme songs for TV series and documentaries, including Romantic Attachment for documentary The Louvre Meets the Forbidden City, which is included in the teaching materials of music for nationwide middle schools in China. In pop music, Zhiyi received two nominations for Best Arranger in the 25th Golden Melody Awards for the album Li Jian Classic Remake Collections. He collaborated with famous singers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, as well as being actively involved in China’s most popular singer reality shows, I am a Singer, Grammy Salute to China Star, and X-Factor, creating his own version of classic songs.
Born in Suzhou, China, Zhiyi holds BM and MM in music composition from Oberlin College Conservatory and the University of Louisville, where he studied with Randolph Coleman and Marc Satterwhite. Zhiyi is a member of World Soundtrack Academy and The Recording Academy, and he lives in Los Angeles.
