Barry Tan

Remarked in the Boston Globe for his "mesmerizing performance", Canadian pianist Barry Tan serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Pepperdine University, Seaver College in Malibu, California. He is enjoying a career as an active soloist, collaborative artist, and educator in Los Angeles, California. Winner of the Grand Prize at the Concert Artists International Competition and the Best-Canadian work prize at the Vancouver International Music Competition, Barry has performed as a soloist with the University of Victoria Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, the Harmonia Chamber Orchestra, the University of Southern California Symphony Orchestra, and the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra.

In demand as a collaborative pianist in recitals, concerts, and recordings, Barry's work has led him to various performances and recordings with instrumentalists, choral groups, and singers throughout North America. Highlights include collaborating with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, and LA Master Chorale; serving as competition pianist for the Primrose International Viola Competition in Los Angeles, the James Toland Vocal Competition in San Francisco; and staff pianist at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, Santa Monica College, and at the Colburn School. With a broad spectrum of performance and collaborative experiences in the 21st century, Barry has been a church musician in various worship bands and services, served in several musical theater pit bands, performed as a workshop pianist for Roger Allers (The Lion King) and Genaro Pereira's upcoming musical, "The Grasshopper", and has been engaged with a handful of LA entertainment industry professionals.

Recent season highlights include solo and collaborative performances throughout Los Angeles, Vancouver, Victoria, Vancouver Island, Montana, Michigan, San Francisco, New York, and in Massachusetts at the Tanglewood Music Festival- where he worked and studied with world-renowned artists such as Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Kiril Gerstein, Andris Nelson, and Yo-Yo Ma. He has recorded on IPR Radio WIAA 98.7FM at Interlochen's Studio A, had featured performances with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra on the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO Now) streaming, as well as collaborative performances through the Violin Channel. Barry has performed at notable venues such as the Chan Center of the Arts (Vancouver, Canada), Tanglewood Music Center (Massachusetts, USA), Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), Banff Center Rolston Recital Hall (Banff, Canada), War Memorial Opera House (San Francisco, USA), Gilles-Lefebvre Concert Hall (Quebec, Canada), Herbert Zipper Concert Hall (Los Angeles, USA), and Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall (New York City, USA).

As an active Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) member, Barry served as President for two consecutive years at USC during his doctoral studies. He has contributed to three volumes of e-journal articles, CAPMT Connect, for the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT). His latest peer-reviewed article “Sight Reading for the Contemporary Pianist” was published in October 2022. He is an adjudicator for the District 3 CAPMT chapter, and his students have been recipients of local scholarships, competition prizes, RCM examination first-class honors and distinction holders, summer music festival acceptances, and undergraduate and graduate school acceptances.

Previously Barry studied at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University under full scholarship, and at the University of Victoria where he was awarded the President's Scholarship, and graduated with distinction. He is grateful to have received funding from the BC Arts Council, the Vancouver Women's Musical Society, the Montreal Jewish Foundation, and the Vancouver Koerner Foundation. Barry received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he was awarded the prize for Outstanding Graduate in the Keyboard Studies Department.

In his spare time, Barry enjoys exploring new neighborhoods in Los Angeles, taking film photography, and producing contemporary beats on Logic Pro X. Barry's music production work can be found at @baresztrks. His most recent entertainment industry credits include playing for a live audience of over 80,000 at Sofi Stadium for the WWE Wrestlemania 2023 with the video performance reaching over 1.5 million streams on Instagram. He has also been engaged with celebrity clientele for piano tutoring, and engagement on music video sets.

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Update, August 2024