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. 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 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.

Recent and upcoming season highlights include collaborative performances at Le Salon de Musiques in La Jolla, Laós Chamber Music in Los Angeles, art song recitals in Lausanne, Switzerland, and at Pepperdine University with soprano Natalie Buickians, and appearances as a collaborative artist at the 2025 Palm Springs International Piano Competition, the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition in Los Angeles, the 2023 James Toland Vocal Competition in San Francisco, and various performances at the Colburn School. As a soloist, Barry's recent and upcoming recitals include performances at the Westwood Public Library in Los Angeles, Fullerton College, Lessona, Italy, and concerto performances of Finzi’s Eclogue for Piano and String Orchestra with the Laós Chamber Orchestra, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major for Left Hand with the West Coast Symphony in Vancouver, BC., and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Temple Symphony Orchestra in Temple, Texas. Through the Sheva label, his upcoming discography includes an upcoming release of solo piano works by Ernest Chausson.

Past season highlights include solo and collaborative performances throughout Los Angeles, Vancouver, Victoria, Vancouver Island, Montana, Michigan, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, 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, and collaborative performances at the Colburn School and Primrose Viola Competition 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).

Beyond the stage, Barry's recent public appearences as an active educator and clinician include presenting masterclasses at San Diego State University and conference presentations at the 2024 CAPMT Fall Conference at California State University, Long Beach. As an active Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) member, Barry served as President for two consecutive years for the USC collegiate chapter. In addition, Barry also serves on the artistic board for Laós Chamber Music, co-curating seasons of chamber music concerts based out of Church of our Savior, in San Gabriel, California. He has contributed to three volumes of e-journal articles in CAPMT Connect, with his latest peer-reviewed article “Sight Reading for the Contemporary Pianist” published in October 2022. He has served as an adjudicator for their District 3 Sonata/Sonatina festival, Virtual Festival Celebration, the JTAC Lighthouse piano competition, and more. His students have been recipients of local scholarships, CAPMT and virtual 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. Barry has furthered his training at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Canada's National Arts Center Young Artist Program, the Banff Arts Centre Fall Residency, Victoria Summer Music, Orford Musique in Quebec, Montecito Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center where he was a piano fellow. He is grateful to have received funding from the BC Arts Council, the Vancouver Women's Musical Society, the Montreal Jewish Foundation, the Vancouver Koerner Foundation, the USC Graduate Student Government Grant, and the Pepperdine University professional development and scholarship funds. Barry received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, where he was awarded as Outstanding Graduate in the Keyboard Studies Department upon graduation. He previously taught at California Baptist University, Pasadena Conservatory, and the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music. During the summer, he has also been on festival faculty and staff at the Montecito International Music Festival, Idylwild Arts Academy, and the Interlochen Summer Music Program.

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, 2025