Tien hao Ran Ran, Tien hao

Born in Taipei in 1973, Tien hao Ran graduated from the Department of English at National Chengchi University and is now a full-time composer.

Ran began arranging choral music in 1994 and has since presented more than 70 works. Recent major works include “Love Among Wind, Snow and Stars: Four Poems by Xu Zhimo” (風雪戀星－徐志摩詩四首; commissioned by Taipei Chamber Singers), “Stars Gathering Suite” (群星會組曲), “Campus Folk Song Suite” (校園民歌組曲) and “Scenes from Childhood: Nursery Rhyme Suite” (兒時情景–童謠組曲; commissioned by the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus). Ran has served as resident arranger for the Formosa Singers, the Taipei Male Choir and T42 Singers, and won the Best Arrangement Award at the Taiwan Vocal Ensemble Competition in 2002. In 2003 Ran began arranging for orchestra, working as a commissioned arranger for the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Piano Trio, and is currently a commissioned arranger for the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus.

In 2001 Ran began composing Chinese-language musicals and has completed 11 full-length works, including “April Rain” (四月望雨) and “Soong Mei-ling: Looking Back on a Century” (世紀回眸．宋美齡) for Musical Time Theater; “Shanghai–Taipei: A Tale of Two Cities” (上海‧台北－雙城戀曲) and “The Magic Flute Rhapsody” (魔笛狂想) for the Taipei Philharmonic Theater Workshop; “Sinbad” (辛巴達), “Ho-Chu’s New Match” (荷珠新配), “The Merchant of Venice” (威尼斯商人), “Little Red Riding Hood Rhapsody” (小紅帽狂想曲) and “Sleeping Beauty” (睡美人) for Da Feng Theatre; “On the Edge of Paradise” (天堂邊緣) for the National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center; and “The Tigress of the Hotel” (酒店母老虎) for Da Kai Theatre. Ran’s incidental music includes “Barefoot in the Park” (公寓春光) for Godot Theatre. At the end of 2006, Ran and fellow theatre artists founded “Match Made in Heaven” (天作之合), pioneering Chinese-language musical theatre concerts in the Chinese-speaking world with “2006 No Les Mis or Phantom Tonight” (2006今晚不唱悲慘魅影), “2007 Match Made in Heaven” (2007天作之合) and “2008 Cyndi Chaw and Match Made in Heaven” (2008趙詠華與天作之合), each devoted entirely to selections from Ran’s musicals and each warmly received.

Alongside composing, Ran writes occasional columns and music criticism, and has served as chief opera and vocal writer for Classical Music magazine (1994–2002), classical marketing planner at Warner Music (2000–2002), and a teacher in the Performing Arts Department of Hwa Kang Arts School (2002–2003).