Lan Tung

As an improviser, Lan Tung creates new vocabularies on the erhu, a Chinese 2-string violin. She draws inspiration from her background in Chinese music, as well as numerous genres from western contemporary music to various ethnic styles, such as Indian, flamenco and Middle Eastern. Lan has performed with Huun Huur Tu (Tuva), Baka Beyond (UK), Khac Chi Ensemble (Vietnam) and Hossam Shaker (Egypt) and shared the stage with many Vancouver’s innovative improvisers. She is the leader of the Juno-nominated Orchid Ensemble, a member of Vancouver world music ensemble Tandava, and the vice-president of Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra.

Lan has premiered numerous compositions by Canadian and US composers. Trained at Taiwan’s Chinese Cultural University, Lan went on to study with erhu virtuosi Jiebing Chen in San Francisco and Zhang Funming in Beijing, with Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath in Bombay, Egyptian violinist Dr. Alfred Gamil in Cairo, and improviser/violinist Mary Oliver in Amsterdam. At Vancouver Creative Music Institute, she has studied and performed with Barry Guy, Evan Parker, François Houle, Paul Plimley, John Butcher, and Han Bennink. The various influences are evident in Lan’s compositions and music arrangements. Lan is also active as a concert producer and arts administrator, creating large scale multi-disciplinary projects regularly with media artists Aleksandra Dulic and Kenneth Newby.