Christopher Tin

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Not to be confused with Christopher Tyng, the American composer known for his work on Futurama.
Christopher Tin
田志仁
Born 1976
California
Occupation Composer
Years active 2001–present
Influenced by Ennio Morricone, Joel McNeely
Website
http://christophertin.com/

Christopher Tin (Chinese: 田志仁) is an American composer of Chinese descent whose work is primarily classical, with a world music influence. He won two Grammy Awards for his classical crossover album, Calling All Dawns. He is also a composer for films, video games and commercials. Tin is best known for his composition Baba Yetu, featured in the 2005 computer game Civilization IV.

Contents

[edit] Life and career

[edit] Career

Christopher Tin was born and raised in California.[1] He worked on his undergraduate education at Oxford and Stanford University. At Stanford, he was active in the taiko group,[2] Stanford Taiko, and conducted the a cappella group, Stanford Talisman,[3][4] several musicals,[5] and choral concerts at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[6] While there, he roomed with video game designer Soren Johnson.[7] He graduated in 1998,[5] receiving a BA with Honors in Music Composition and English Literature. He continued to study at Stanford and received an MA in Humanities in 1999.[8] He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, becoming the first to be awarded one for film scoring,[9] to study composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London, and he graduated with a MMus with Distinction. He was also the winner of the Horovitz composition prize, and graduated with the highest grades in his class.[1] He was also commissioned by the US Embassy in London to compose music for a string quartet.[5] In 2003, he became a Sundance Institute Film Music Lab Fellow.[10]

Tin returned to Los Angeles and continued his career by producing TV show music and working as an intern with Hans Zimmer, composer for The Lion King and Gladiator, and Joel McNeely, with whom he worked on Mulan II.[5] John Ottman contacted him to work on X-Men 2, for which he composed several original themes.[11] He also composed "Daydream" for Apple Inc.'s music software, GarageBand, and the music for an international advertisement of Puma AG. He also worked on TV show music, notably for Nova,[12] The History Channel, and Discovery Channel.[13]

[edit] Baba Yetu

By far his biggest break came in 2005, when Soren Johnson, his roommate at Stanford and now working as a game designer at Firaxis Games, asked him to compose the theme song for Civilization IV. Tin responded with "Baba Yetu," a choral piece performed by Stanford Talisman. Its lyrics are a Swahili version of the Lord's Prayer. It garnered a huge critical response, with over 20 reviewers singling out the theme on IGN, GameSpy, and Game Shark,[14] and is a persistent favorite of blog posts.[15] Contemporary Tommy Tallarico called it "incredible".[16] and the piece is a staple of the concert tour Video Games Live, which Tallarico organizes. It won Tin two awards at the GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) Awards in 2007.

On December 5, 2010, it was reported that "Baba Yetu" was nominated for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in the category for 'Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists', making it the first video game theme nominated for a Grammy Award.[17] On February 13, 2011, it was announced as the winner of its category, making it also the first piece of music composed for a video game to win a Grammy Award.[18]

"Baba Yetu" has also been performed at various venues and events around the world, such as the opening ceremonies of the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung Taiwan, The Dubai Fountain (the world’s largest water feature), concert programs at The Kennedy Center and Disney Concert Hall, and many more. Additionally, "Baba Yetu" is one of the most widely performed pieces of contemporary choral music, with hundreds of amateur choirs singing it internationally. In January 2011, Calling All Dreams was nominated for The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Contemporary Classical Album category. Additionally, "Baba Yetu" won in the Song Used in Film/TV/Multimedia and World Beat Song category.[19]

[edit] Calling All Dawns

Tin released his classical crossover album Calling All Dawns in 2009. The album won two Grammy Awards in the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the song, "Baba Yetu". The win marks the first time in history that a Grammy has been awarded to a composition written for a video game.

The album is a song-cycle in three uninterrupted movements: Day, Night, and Dawn (corresponding to life, death, and rebirth). The twelve songs are sung in twelve languages, ranging from Swahili to Polish, from French to Persian to Maori. The lyrics are taken from diverse sources, including the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, ancient Persian and Japanese poetry, and lyrics by contemporary writers. Vocal traditions include African choral music, opera, medieval chant, Irish keening, and more.

The album features performances from over 200 musicians on six continents, including Frederica von Stade, Anonymous 4, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Dulce Pontes, Sussan Deyhim and many more.

[edit] Works

Tin's works include both concert pieces and incidental music for films, TV shows, video games, commercials, and other multimedia applications. His works, scores and clients include:

[edit] Collaborative Projects

In 2009, Christopher Tin and multi-instrumentalist and producer Shoji Kameda, aka "Kametron" formed an LA based production duo, Stereo Alchemy. Their debut album, God of Love, was released 14 February 2012.[20]

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Official site, biography
  2. ^ "Alumni". Stanford Taiko. 2006. http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordtaiko/alumni.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-28. [dead link]
  3. ^ Shoji (2004-11-29). "Updates (archives)". On Ensemble at Stanford. http://www.onensemble.org/UpdatesArchive/Updates04.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. [dead link]
  4. ^ "The Rhythms and Harmonies of Talisman". Stanford Talisman. 2000. http://www.stanfordtalisman.com/html/music.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  5. ^ a b c d Oxfeld, Jesse (2004). "Getting in Synch". Stanford Magazine. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2004/mayjun/show/tin.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  6. ^ Official site, resume
  7. ^ PC Zone Staff (2006-07-06). "Looking Back... Civilization IV". Computer and video games. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=142558. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  8. ^ "Christopher Tin". Alfred Publishing. 2008. http://alfred.com/img/authors/tin.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  9. ^ Gautam, Savitha (2003). "The `shakti' of sound". The Hindu. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/27/stories/2003032700930100.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  10. ^ Broadcast Music Incorporated (2003). "BMI and Sundance Announce 2003 Composers Lab Fellows". Sundance Institute. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233803. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  11. ^ "X-Men 2". Gazillion Movies. 2008. http://www.gazillionmovies.com/Movies/Review/DVD/Posters/Tickets/X/XMen2.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  12. ^ "Battle Plan Under Fire: TV Program Credits". Nova. April 2004. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wartech/credits.html. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
  13. ^ "Music Composition". Soundelux DMG. 2007. http://www.soundeluxdmg.com/content_interim2/musiccomp.shtml. Retrieved 2008-02-29. 
  14. ^ Official site, press
  15. ^ For example, see: "Sushi Delight" (2005-11-20). "Baba Yetu". Once Upon a Dreamer. http://sushi-delight.blogspot.com/2005/11/baba-yetu.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02. ; "D.B. Light" (2005-12-26). "Christopher Tin; He Might Be the Next John Williams". Light Seeking Light. http://lightseekinglight.blogspot.com/2005/12/christopher-tin-he-might-be-next-john.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02. ; "Adrian" (2007-03-15). "Baba Yetu". Mssv. http://mssv.net/2007/03/15/baba-yetu/. Retrieved 2008-12-02. ; "Violence Worker" (2006-05-12). "Baba Yetu". Violence Worker. http://www.violenceworker.com/my_weblog/2006/05/baba_yetu.html. Retrieved 2008-12-02. ; "M" (2006-09-20). "Baba Yetu". My Flights of Fancy. http://my-flights-of-fancy.blogspot.com/2006/09/baba-yetu.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. ; Pintscher, Lydia (2006-09-20). "Baba Yetu". life at the end of the universe. http://blog.lydiapintscher.de/2005/11/06/baba-yetu/. Retrieved 2008-12-02. ; etc.
  16. ^ "The Definitive Tommy Tallarico Interview". Music 4 Games. 2007-02-20. http://www.soundeluxdmg.com/content_interim2/musiccomp.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-02. 
  17. ^ "'Civ IV' theme nominated for Grammy". 2010-12-05. http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a291495/civ-iv-theme-nominated-for-grammy.html. Retrieved 2010-12-05. 
  18. ^ "Video Game Music Finally Wins a Grammy: Civ 4's Baba Yetu". 2011-02-13. http://games.on.net/article/11612/Video_Game_Music_Finally_Wins_a_Grammy_Civ_4s_Baba_Yetu. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  19. ^ http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/artist/christopher-tin
  20. ^ "Stereo Alchemy". Stereo Alchemy. 2009-12-07. http://www.stereoalchemy.com. Retrieved 2009-12-07. 

[edit] External links

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