Joan Tan Jing Wen
Composer. Artist. Dreamer.
About Joan
Joan treasures the collaboration and experimentation processes when working with musicians. She has worked with ensembles such as Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, b-l duo, Weird Aftertaste collective, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Asasello Quartet and ColLAB Cologne. Her works have been presented around the world: at RED NOTE New Music Festival (2021), Valencia International Composers Academy (2022), International Young Composers Academy Ticino (2023), Maerzmusik (2024), Sommerblut KulturFestival (2025), Frequenz_Festival Kiel (2025), Limina Festival (2025), Marginale Transmedia Arts and Electronic Music Festival (2025), Festspielhaus Hellerau Happy New Ear (2026) and the International Computer Music Conference (2026). She recently presented her own concert titled “still, becoming”: a multimedia show serving as an introspection on the self and identity. She was awarded Honourable Mention in the Frost School of Music Ensemble Ibis Composition Competition (2021) and 3rd prize in the Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest (2024).
Upcoming projects include a new work for the International Contemporary Ensemble as part of the Call for ___ Commission Program 2026, a new work for Ensemble Hopper as part of the Echoes of the Meuse-Rhine Project, presentation of her installation “was wahr bleibt | what truth remains” at Performers(‘) Present International Artistic Research Symposium 2026 in Singapore, as well as presentation of her work “In a space between heaven and home” as part of Ars Electronica Festival 2026 in Linz, Austria and PAYSAGES | COMPOSÉS Festival 2026 in Grenoble, France.
Joan hopes to travel widely, to experience life in societies beyond her own
Photo credits: Jellal Koay @jellykuihmusic
Joan Tan Jing Wen (b.2000) is a Singaporean composer, whose music draws upon lived experiences, both her own and of others. She graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Composition at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), under the tutelage of Associate Professor Peter Ivan Edwards and Martin Jaggi, and is currently doing a Masters in Instrumental Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, under the tutelage of Professor Brigitta Muntendorf and Oxana Omelchuk.
Coming from a society, and perhaps a world, where much sensory input is tuned-out for the sake of every-day function, she seeks to create sonic experiences that encourage focused listening, guiding listeners through crafted, auditory experiences that are reflections, and perhaps, responses to ones environments.
Attention and perception are at the forefront of her compositions. She is fascinated by how attention constructs, and at times, distorts one's perceptions. How the focus of one’s attention influences one’s entire experience, both in music, and in their everyday lives. Her music blends sound design, foley and new music composition approaches together, existing in the liminal space between narrative-driven and material-driven listening.
Memory and the fallibility of memories are also important aspects in her compositions. She believes that every sound triggers a sensory response, engages ones imagination and evokes emotions through associations. Recognisable sound sources form a part of her compositions, often going through processes of distortion, such that the source of sound is lost, leaving behind crafted gestures and faint memories of what they once were. Incessant repetitions of materials are seen as a form of encoding in the audiences’ memories, with the shifting of attention to different sonic aspects hiding and revealing different variation processes that shape the musical journey.
Upcoming Performances/Projects
23 July 2026, 19:30 (CEST)
Konzertsaal, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Germany.
still, becoming.
Joan’s Abschlusskonzert/Recital. More information here.
11 - 12 September 2026, 15:00 - 20:00 (CEST)
ProduktionsStudio, Anton Bruckner University, Linz, Austria.
SONIC SATURDAY, as part of the Ars Electronica Festival, presentation of In a space between heaven and home (ambisonics version).
25 - 27 September 2026
Grenoble, France.
PAYSAGES | COMPOSÉS 2026 Festival, presentation of In a space between heaven and home (binaural version).
22 October 2026, 15:00 - 22:00 (GMT + 8)
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore.
As part of Performers(') Present 2026: Interweaving, presentation of was wahr bleibt | what truth remains (installation version).