About
Music grows from
attention.
Short bio
Siyuan Kang is a Chinese composer whose music moves between acoustic instruments, orchestral color, the voice, and electronics. Drawing on folk song, visual art, philosophy, and the relationships between people and their environments, she treats sound as a living language shaped by attention. Her work has been presented by the CCM Concert Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, Untitled Ensemble in Toronto, She Scores in Cleveland, Electronic Music Midwest, SPLICE Institute, Glow Music, and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute. Recent projects include Furious for clarinet and fixed media, 2 a.m. in the Building for flute and electronics, and the percussion works Fire and Gold and Oh Really! Kang earned her B.M. at Xi’an Conservatory of Music and M.M. at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in composition and an M.M. in music theory at CCM. Her music looks for intensity within subtle changes, playful exchanges, and moments of imperfect understanding.
Full bio · 2026
Siyuan Kang is a composer from China whose work draws inspiration from folk song, visual art, philosophy, and the human relationships that surround music. She views music as a unique language, often allowing sound itself to carry meaning before explanation. Her catalogue includes music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, soloists, voice, fixed media, and interactive electronics.
Her music has been presented by the CCM Concert Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra, Untitled Ensemble in Toronto, She Scores in Cleveland, Electronic Music Midwest, SPLICE Institute, Newfound Chamber Winds, Glow Music, and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute. Recent performances include Furious for clarinet and fixed media, 2 a.m. in the Building for flute and electronics, and the percussion works Fire and Gold and Oh Really!
Kang earned her B.M. in composition at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music and her M.M. in composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She is currently pursuing a D.M.A. in composition and an M.M. in music theory at CCM, where her teachers have included Miguel Roig-Francolí, Ellen Harrison, and Michael Fiday. Alongside composing, she teaches music theory and continues research into feminist learning and early Chinese women’s rock music. Across these practices, she returns to the same question: how can close listening reveal new relationships between sound, place, and people?
Beyond music, I am interested in feminism, architecture, museums, and the relationships between people and their environments.