Ding Jian Han (b. 1994) is a composer from Singapore, whose compositional style draws inspiration from his varied non-musical interests as he uses these non-musical ideas and concepts to formulate new sounds and textures in his music. He is currently fascinated with the endless potential of open or indeterminate notation in music, using 'time' as a guiding principle in approaching composition, as well as the use acoustic models (extracting sonic and spectral information from non-musical objects). Most recently, he has also been incorporating self-created short films into his musical compositions, most noteworthy being Three Pieces in search of Myself - III, which was first showcased in the exhibition Palastrauschen in the museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, Germany.

 

His music has been performed in Singapore, Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and New Zealand, by notable ensembles such as Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Trio Surplus, Quasar Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Multilatérale, Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Ding Yi Music Company. Some personal highlights of his include having his orchestra piece "Let me run 'til I fade away." premiered by the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra at the YST Conservatory Concerto Competition 2018, being the 3rd prize winner at the Asian Composers League Young Composers Competition 2018, as well as being awarded the 1st Prize of the Ding Yi Music Company 4th Singapore International Composition Competition for Chinese Chamber Music (Category B2). Jian Han graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s degree with Honours (Highest Distinction) in Composition and attained a Master’s degree in Composition from the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf in Germany. His principal teachers include Oliver Schneller, Martin Jaggi and Peter Ivan Edwards. Jian Han is currently Composer-in-residence of a new music ensemble based in Germany, Ensemble INprogRES. Being an avid educator, Jian Han has conducted songwriting and composition workshops and is currently Associate Teacher (Music) at Raffles Institution, Singapore. Other professional experience include working as a music arranger and freelance composer for various individuals and organisations, including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and governmental agencies in Singapore. Jian Han also enjoys songwriting, and has composed and arranged music for two full-length musicals.