Michael (Qin Tai) Tan is an award-winning emerging composer based in Canada, who started composing seriously at the end of 2023. His string quartet Çal, oyna received an international prize (2024) at the NMGCS IV International Composition Competition, and was published in the USA. Another string quartet Fragments Over a Pale Sea was professionally performed by members of the Ironwood Quartet, as part of Chamberfest, in Canada (2024).

He has also worked with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) as a New Generation Composer, and his clarinet quintet The White Woods was workshopped at the Canadian Music Center in Toronto (2025). This work was additionally chosen by the SPO for a concert premiere in early 2026.

He is mostly self-taught, and he is currently completing his master’s degree in health sciences at the University of Ottawa (2025). His research focuses on using zebrafish as a model for striated muscle laminopathies.

Fragments Over A Pale Sea was professionally premiered by the Ironwood Quartet as part of Chamberfest.

Premiere Date: January 23rd, 2024

Çal, oyna won an international prize at the NMGCS IV International Composition Competition, and received publishing in the USA.

Award Date: September 18th, 2024

The White Woods was written as part of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra’s (SPO) New Generation Composers’ Program 2024-2025 (Canada wide competition). This piece was additionally selected by the SPO for a 2026 world premiere.

*to be premiered: January 17th, 2026

Isles of Mist is a short piece for chamber orchestra written for Eric Clark. In this performance, Eric plays all the instruments, mixes them, and masterfully brings this piece to life!

Published Date: May 23rd, 2025