CHEN YIHAN

  • Home
  • About
  • Highlights
  • Catalog
  • Contact
Media-based Music
Orchestra and Large Ensemble
Chamber and Solo
Vocal Music

Multimedia

Whither

三瘦

2024

a Chen Yihan record, feat. Dai Wei & Julia Glenn

Whither is my debut personal record, featuring three original songs set to the lyrics of Li Qingzhao, a seminal figure in Chinese literary history, commemorating her 940th anniversary. This collaborative work showcases Dai Wei on vocals and Julia Glenn on the violin.

​

Utilizing historically authentic Song Dynasty Chinese pronunciation and traditional poetry recitation from my hometown, Changzhou, Whither serves as a portal from the past to the present. I invite you to embark on a journey with me, where academic research, cultural roots, and contemporary sonic worlds converge.

Learn More

EHOHE

噫吁嚱

2022

work for baroque violin and electronics, commissioned by violinist Julia Glenn

​

Based on the poetry of Li Bai, a renowned Tang Dynasty poet, Yihan fuses historical Chinese phonology, traditional recitation, traditional instrumental techniques, and music technology to create this piece. 

11 mins.

Learn More

Don’t You Know?

知否

2020

A multimedia work based on the renowned poetry of Li Qingzhao, the most esteemed female poet in Chinese history and one of the most cherished Chinese authors of all time.

This collaborative project, co-created by Min Xiao-Fen, Howie Kenty, and François-Thibaut Pencenat, aims to preserve and celebrate both oral and literary traditions. Drawing inspiration from the traditional Changzhou poetry recitation, a Chinese national-level intangible cultural heritage, “Don’t You Know?” showcases a confluence of the past and the present, giving new life to a fading tradition.

60 mins.​​

Watch on YouTube

Dance

Nine Songs

九歌

2024

a new production by Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center

directed by HU Yang

co-composers with Yang Fan and Zhang Yixin

Film Music

Manifesto

望道

2023

feature-length film directed by Hou Yong

co-composers with Wang Delong and Norvin Tu-Wang

The film stars Liu Ye, Hu Jun, and Janice Man, and is set for release in theaters across China on March 24th, 2023.

The score was performed by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra and was conducted by Allan Wilson.  

A Game of Chess

博弈

2022

short film for the opening of the Second Chang’an Automobile Technology and Environmental Conference, produced by Dawa Technology

A Touch of Love

​琴爱

short film directed by Qinting Wang

co-composer with Bofan Zhang

Musical

The Returning Geese

​归雁

2019

mini-musical, commissioned the Jiangsu Association of Overseas Chinese

​

15 mins.


Orchestra and Large Ensemble

Hutongnese Cacophony

​乱弹一胡同

2023

sinfonietta, for Alarm Will Sound

​11 mins.

Score

Aloneness Arcs

孤虹

2020
orchestra

IN MEMORIAM CHRISTOPHER ROUSE

14 mins.

Learn More

Spiritus

气息

2019
orchestra

IN MEMORIAM SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM

16 mins.

Learn More

Fallen Petals

​落花

2018
song cycle for soprano and orchestra

13 mins.

Listen
Score

Fireward Feast

​归宴

2022

orchestra, commissioned by China National Centre for the Performing Arts

IN MEMORIAM CHRISTOPHER ROUSE

​11 mins.

Learn More

Materia

​万物

2019
orchestra

IN MEMORIAM SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM

60 mins.

Fallen Petals

​落花

2019
clarinet and string orchestra

13 mins.

Dust

​尘埃

2016
orchestra

15 mins.

Learn More

Chamber and Solo music

Luantan

​乱弹

2019

work for chamber ensemble

10 mins.

…rains of ink…

​雨墨

​2019

work for piano

30 mins.

Fallen Petals

​落花

2018
song cycle for soprano and piano

13 mins.

Vox Gandharva

乾闼婆乐

​2017

work for flute duo, commissioned by Mosaic Flute Duo

8 mins.

Listen

Verses from Beyond the Passes

从军行

2017

song for soprano and piano

7 mins.

Listen

Contemplation on Purity

默念清凉

​2017

work for hichiriki and piano

9 mins.

Listen

—still—

清凉

2019

work for trumpet, trombone, and electric guitar

8 mins.

Listen

Luantan

乱弹

​2018

work for violin and piano

10 mins.

Listen

My Native Soil

故土

​2017

work for piano

25 mins.

Listen

little rituals here and there

小礼小仪

​2017

work for clarinet and piano

9 mins.

Listen

​Our Outcry

呼喊

​2017

work for cello and piano

11 mins.

Listen

Vocal music

Don’t You Know?

知否

2020

A multimedia work based on the renowned poetry of Li Qingzhao, the most esteemed female poet in Chinese history and one of the most cherished Chinese authors of all time.

This collaborative project, co-created by Min Xiao-Fen, Howie Kenty, and François-Thibaut Pencenat, aims to preserve and celebrate both oral and literary traditions. Drawing inspiration from the traditional Changzhou poetry recitation, a Chinese national-level intangible cultural heritage, “Don’t You Know?” showcases a confluence of the past and the present, giving new life to a fading tradition.

60 mins.​​

Fallen Petals

​落花

2018
song cycle for soprano and orchestra

13 mins.

Listen

Vanished Through Time

流逝

​2015

song cycle for soprano and piano

15 mins.

Who knows many flowers fell?

花落知多少

​2018

work for choir and children’s choir, commissioned by the New York Virtuoso Singers

8 mins.

Listen

Shui Guang Lian Yan (Ripples Glisten Away…)

水光瀲灧

2014

work for a cappella choir, published by Edition Peters

5 mins.

Listen
Hardcopy Score

Verses from Beyond the Passes

从军行

2017

song for soprano and piano

7 mins.

Listen

Get in touch.

  • Instagram
  • Mail
  • YouTube
  • Soundcloud

©2025 by Chen Yihan