Jia Daqun

Composer, China Following eight years of study as a painter at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Jia Daqun abandoned a career in the visual arts when his vision became impaired. Undeterred, he decided to devote his attention to composition—a passion he had been developing while in art school.

As a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a respected composer of contemporary music, he has imported the principles of form, line and color from Chinese calligraphy and painting into his compositions and teachings. His compositions have been performed in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu (China), Tokyo, Sendai (Japan), Paris and New York. They have been performed by ensembles including The Central Philharmonic of China, The Choir Ensemble of the Central Philharmonic of China and the Chinese Instrumental Ensemble of the China Conservatory of Music. His works Rondo, for CL & Pro. (1984), The Dragon and Phoenix Totem for pipa and orchestra (1985) and Two Movements Symphony (1986) have won prizes in national composition competitions in China. String Quartet (1988) received the First Prize in the 12th IRINO Foundation Prize for Chamber Music (1991) in Tokyo, Japan.

Jia Daqun composed The Prospect of Colored Desert, a 2000 Silk Road Project commission.