Singaporean harpist Lishan Tan enjoys a multifaceted career as performer, arranger, writer, and teacher. As winner of the VI Mexico International Harp Competition, she made her debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional at Mexico City’s historical Palacio de Bellas Artes. Most recently, she appeared as a soloist alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2024 at the Tanglewood Music Festival. In October 2022 she performed two sold-out Opening Night concerts with the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation of conductor Bruce Hangen. She has also shared the stage with such noteworthy groups as the Sarasota Orchestra, Borromeo String Quartet, and The Beach Boys. As a founding member and resident arranger of The Harp Quarterly, Singapore’s premier harp quartet, Lishan aims to push the boundaries of her instrument through her arrangements and workshops. Her arrangements range from Metallica to Debussy, and her music has garnered millions of views online. She conducts Writing for the Harp workshops for composers and further collaborates with them to premiere and record new harp works. In addition, she is currently a freelance writer for the international harp magazine HarpColumn. Lishan Tan holds a BMus from the Royal College of Music, an MM from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts with BSO Principal Harpist Jessica Zhou at the New England Conservatory, where she is the first harpist to be admitted to the doctoral program. When not thinking about music, Lishan can be found sipping coffee, reading, or boxing.
Composer Scott Wheeler’s operas have been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera. the Guggenheim Foundation and White Snake Projects. His music has been performed by violinist Gil Shaham, conductor Kent Nagano, and singers Renee Fleming, Sanford Sylvan, and Susanna Phillips.
Scott’s music has been performed by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Artists Ensemble, Washington National Opera, violinist Gil Shaham, conductor Kent Nagano and many others. Recent premieres include works for pianists Eliza Garth and Maxim Lando as well as sopranos Laura Strickling and Kristina Bachrach. In 2023 Scott appeared as pianist at Merkin Concert Hall, Bargemusic, Guarneri Hall in Chicago, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Villa La Pietra in Florence, Italy.