Biography

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James Chan (1997-) is a Hong Kong-born composer currently based in Manchester. Since 2011 he has been educated in the UK, and is now studying on the prestigious 'joint-course' at the Royal Northern College of Music (under Gary Carpenter) and the University of Manchester.

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His music often inhabits a delicate and fragile sound world, with a unique and sensual harmonic and timbral palette. Drawing on a wide range of cultural references, recently he has been much inspired by other art forms, with a particular penchant for the writings of Virginia Woolf.

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In 2016 he was announced as a winner in the senior category of the BBC Inspire Young Composer's Competition. Since then his music has been performed by a number of ensembles including the Aurora Orchestra and the NYCGB Fellowship Octet (2016-17). Most recently, he has been chosen to be part of the London Symphony Orchestra Panufnik Scheme 2019.