A Young Voice in Contemporary Symphonic Music
Carey Tan is a 13-year-old composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, currently studying at Eton College as a King’s Scholar and Music Scholar. He focuses primarily on the creation of large-scale orchestral works. His music is characterised by expansive structures, clear narrative direction and profound intellectual depth, drawing on themes from philosophy, science, spirituality and contemporary society, and transforming them into a distinctive symphonic language. With a mature and highly individual creative vision, he is increasingly attracting attention within the international classical music world.
Carey began composing at the age of six. At eleven, he completed a university-level diploma in composition with distinction, placing him among the youngest candidates worldwide to achieve this qualification. By the age of thirteen, he had completed seven symphonies, one piano concerto, and over thirty chamber and solo works.
His works have won 12 top prizes across seven international composition competitions and have been performed by major professional orchestras across Europe and Asia, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the China National Opera House Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. His music has appeared in more than ten countries and in prestigious international venues including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, and Cadogan Hall in London.
Carey’s artistic voice attracted major international media attention in 2026. He was interviewed by both BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and BBC World Service’s Newshour about his Symphony No. 3, The Rise and Fall of AI Humanity. In September, Gramophone, one of the world’s leading classical music publications, selected the complete third movement, Nature and the Universe, as its “Video of the Day” — a rare level of international professional recognition for a composer of his age. He has also been featured by the Oxford Mail, Austrian television, CCTV, People’s Daily, China Daily and other major media outlets.
Carey Tan
Carey Tan is a British composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist whose work focuses on large-scale orchestral music. His compositions explore narrative, philosophy, science and contemporary life, and have been performed by professional orchestras across the UK, Europe and Asia.
