Tangram

Tangram is a London-based music collective growing transnational community by creatively celebrating Chinese cultures. They are newly appointed Associate Artists at LSO St Luke's 2022-25 and shortlisted for the RPS Young Artist Awards 2023.​

Made up of researchers, composers and performers of Chinese and western instruments, the group launched in 2019 as recipients of the Chinese Arts Now Artist Development Bursary and winners of Nonclassical's Battle of the Bands. They have worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble, New Earth Theatre, and are currently Associate Ensemble at SOAS University of London. Most recently, they have been announced as recipients of Jerwood Arts' inaugural Live Work Fund and Genesis Foundation's Kickstarter Fund.

Tangram's compositions and performances delve into the richness and multiplicity of transnational Chinese experience, encouraging audiences to engage in nuanced cultural exchange and deep listening across perceived borders. Through the emotional languages of music, they hope to transcend the pervasive assumption that China and the West are mutually exclusive entities, in favour of imagining more interconnected futures.

New music forms a large part of Tangram's work as a way to expand the contemporary classical music space to include non-Eurocentric cultures. Highlights include commissions by Raymond Yiu (shortlisted for RPS Awards 2020), Sun Keting, Tonia Ko, Vivian Fung, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Shruthi Rajasekar, Robin Haigh and the premiere of Alex Ho's anti-opera, Untold (winner of George Butterworth Prize 2020).

Tangram are very grateful to the organisations and individuals who have supported their projects including Arts Council England, Jerwood Arts, Genesis Foundation, PRS Foundation, Countess of Munster Trust, Sound and Music, Britten-Pears Arts, and Help Musicians UK.

Updated: 21/05/2023