Huang Ruo

Huang Ruo (黃若, born 1976) is a Chinese-born composer, pianist and vocalist who now lives in the United States.

In 2001, Huang was one of the founding members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, an orchestral group of some 30 musicians which often performs works by European, Latin American, and Asian composers. In 2005, he founded the performance company, Future in Reverse (FIRE), specializing in multimedia and cross-genre projects.

In 2010, Huang's composition "The Yellow Earth" won the Celebrate Asia! composition competition. It was performed by the Seattle Symphony at a concert in January 2011. The piece is a rearrangement of the third movement of his sheng concerto "The Color Yellow" which brings together music produced by a Chinese instrument accompanied by a Western orchestra. to create ANGEL ISLAND, an oratorio based on the Chinese poems carved in the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station detention barracks. The work premiered in 2021 at the Presidio Theatre and on Angel Island, with subsequent performances at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art with the US Air Force Singing Sergeants , the Singapore International Festival of Arts , and the Brooklyn Academy of Music .

Musical style

Huang Ruo's aesthetic is his attempt to "define connections between space, time, and sound. It is related to architecture and modern art in general, which I am a big lover of."

Selected works Being..., for alto saxophone (or clarinet) and viola (1999) Omnipresence, violin concerto (2003) Tree Without Wind, (2004) Leaving Sao, for Chinese folk vocalist and orchestra, (2004) String Quartet No.1, The Three Tenses, (2005) Four Fragments, for amplified violin (2006) Wind Blows..., for viola and piano (2007) The Color Yellow, concerto for sheng and fifteen musicians (2007) Dr. Sun Yat-sen , opera (2011, rev. 2014) Blue Sky, video short, composer (2013) An American Soldier, opera (2014, rev. 2018) Above the Drowning Sea, documentary, soundtrack (2017) A Dust in Time (2020) ANGEL ISLAND, for string quartet and choir (2021 , rev. 2023) Book of Mountain and Seas, opera (2022) M. Butterfly, opera (2022) (based on David Henry Hwang's play M. Butterfly) City of Floating Sounds, for mobile phones and orchestra (2024) The Monkey King, opera (2025)

Discography Huang Ruo, "Chamber Concertos Nos 1 to 4", International Contemporary Ensemble, and Mandy Corrado, Naxos CD 8.559322 (2007) Huang Ruo, "To The Four Corners", Huang Ruo (Composer), Huang Ruo (Conductor), Future In REverse (F.I.R.E.) (Performer), Stephen Buck (Performer), Min Xiao-Fen (Performer), Naxos CD Huang Ruo: Drama Theater Nos. 2-4 / String Quartet No. 1, "The 3 Tenses" (Future In REverse, Huang Ruo), Naxos CD 8.559653 New Music from Bowling Green, Vol. 5, Jane Rodgers' Roger Schupp (Artist), Huang Ruo (Artist, Composer, Performer), Steven Bryant (Composer), Samuel Adler (Composer), Shulamit Ran (Composer), John Ross (Composer), Michael Daugherty (Composer), Emily Freeman Brown (Conductor), Bowling Green Philharmonia (Orchestra), Roger Schupp (Performer), Jane Rodgers (Performer), Albani CD (2008) International Composition Prize Luxembourg 2008, World Premiere Recordings, New Works for Solo-Sheng and Orchestra": Huang Ruo, "MO"; Lan-chee Lam, "Threnody for the Earth"; Kee Yong Chong, "Phoenix calling"; Xiaozhong Yang, "Horsetail Whisk II", Lok-yin Tang, "It is What it is!"; Stephen Yip, "Six Paths". Luxembourg Sinfonietta, Soloist: Wu Wei, Conductor: Marcel Wengler. CD LGNM No 408. Huang Ruo: A Dust in Time (Del Sol Quartet), Bright Shiny Things Huang Ruo: An American Soldier (2026 Best Opera Recording, GRAMMY nomination )