Singapore, Singapore
Tan Ee Chuan Xander (b. 2011) is a student at Bedok Green Secondary School. He began formal music lessons at the age of three and started composing at eleven. Currently, he studies composition (including arranging and orchestration) and plays the piano and the flute. He is currently a member of the school’s Concert Band under the guidance of Mr Chia Jun Cheng and Mr Xavier Tan, and was formerly under the tutelage of Ms Caroline Tan. Through the ensemble, he continues to develop his musicianship both as a composer and performer. He also studies G3 Music under Ms Chesed Wong and Mrs Cherry Goh, and piano performance under Mrs Kelly Tan. Around 2021, he also studied violin performance. Tan previously studied composition under Dr Zechariah Goh, a brief yet impactful experience that strengthened his compositional technique. Since 2022, he has additionally been mentored by “ValkyRiver,” a composition major at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He primarily composes orchestral and wind band music, which forms the majority of his compositional output. Beyond original compositions, Tan is also active in the arrangement, orchestration, and transcription of other works. He has arranged and orchestrated numerous existing works for orchestra and wind band, including orchestral and chamber arrangements of several Singaporean school songs transcribed by ear from audio recordings. He possesses perfect pitch. His school featured his concert march, March No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 27, and Allegretto for Orchestra in D major, Op. 26a, in its biennial musical, Brillante. The procession march for the Guest of Honour featured the former, while the Prologue section of the musical used the latter as background music, marking an important milestone in the public presentation of his work.