About this Event
A Concert About Our Time
What does the modern world sound like when reflected through symphonic music?
On 21 June 2026, audiences will experience a rare full-length symphonic concert at the Royal College of Music, London, featuring an entire programme of original works by 12-year-old composer Carey Tan. His music engages directly with some of the defining issues of our time — nature, exploration, war, human nature, and artificial intelligence.
This is not simply a presentation of youthful talent, but a complete symphonic portrait: through the language of the orchestra, it reveals how a young composer responds to the realities of the world in which he is growing up. Performed by the London City Philharmonic Orchestra, the concert will also feature Carey Tan performing throughout the programme, uniting composition and performance as a single artistic practice.
In addition, Carey Tan will personally host the concert and, during the performance, share with the audience how he balances academic study with his interests and passions, as well as the important role music has played in his growth. The concert not only presents musical works, but also offers audiences an insight into how a young creator learns, reflects, and develops within the contemporary world.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Carey Tan is an internationally recognised young composer and performer whose symphonic works have received more than twelve major composition awards at international competitions. At the age of eleven, he became the youngest composer in UK history to be awarded a university-level diploma in composition. He is also the 2026 recipient of both the King’s Scholarship and the Music Scholarship at Eton College.
Carey’s large-scale orchestral works have been performed in some of Europe’s most prestigious concert venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie and the Vienna Musikverein, helping to establish his distinctive voice on the international stage. His music engages directly with some of the defining concerns of our time — war, technological transformation, artificial intelligence, and the future of human civilisation — approached with an artistic seriousness and imaginative reach far beyond his years.
What distinguishes Carey’s creative voice is the way he brings together music, philosophy, physics, and mathematics into a single compositional vision. His works are not conceived simply as musical narratives, but as structured worlds of thought and sound, in which emotional intensity is shaped by rigorous architecture. This interdisciplinary approach gives his music a distinctive balance of intellectual depth, dramatic force, and sonic imagination.
Beyond composition, Carey is also a compelling interpreter of his own works. As both pianist and percussionist, he often performs the music he creates, bringing composition and performance into a single artistic act. This dual role allows him to realise his musical ideas with unusual immediacy and precision: audiences encounter not only the written score, but the composer’s own direct expression of its inner world.
PROGRAMME
Carey Tan — Piano Concerto No. 1: The Explorers
Carey Tan, piano
I. Pacific Diver · II. Sahara Runner · III. Mars Explorer
From ocean floor to desert to Mars — this concerto charts humanity's compulsion to go further, deeper, beyond. Cinematic in scale, rigorous in structure, and dazzling in its pianistic invention. Played by the composer himself.
Premiered at the Vienna Musikverein Golden Hall, August 2025. Subsequently performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, November 2025.
Promising Young Talent Prize, Vienna International Classical Music Composition Competition, 2025 · Platinum Prize & Poetic Artistic Musical Genius Special Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, 2025 · Platinum Prize & Distinguished Creativity Special Award, World Grand Prix International Music Contest, 2026.
Carey Tan — Symphony No. 2: The Cries of War
Carey Tan, marimba
I. Shadows of Misery · II. Reflection · III. The Pact
War does not end when the guns fall silent. This symphony moves from devastation through haunted memory toward the fragile possibility of reconciliation. To hear it is to be shaken, and then stilled.
Gold Prize & Inspirational Creativity Musical Genius Special Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, 2025 · First Prize, UK International Music Competition, 2026.
Carey Tan — Symphony No. 1: Four Seasons in Summer Fields
Carey Tan, marimba
I. Autumn Sonata · II. Winter Romance · III. Spring Minuet · IV. Summer Rondo
A child walking through fields, watching the seasons turn. Lyrical, tender, and full of colour — this symphony reminds us, quietly, what is worth protecting.
Silver Prize, World Classical Music Awards, 2023 · Performed at the Shenzhen Guangming Culture & Art Centre.
Carey Tan — Symphony No. 3: The Rise and Fall of AI Humanity
Carey Tan, marimba
I. Construction of AI Civilisation · II. Dwelling in Reality · III. Nature and the Universe · IV. Collapse and Destruction · V. Ashes and Echoes
What happens when humanity creates something greater than itself — and then loses control of it? Five movements. One civilisation. Its birth, its expansion, its ruin. The questions it raises are not hypothetical. They are the questions of our moment.
Gold Prize in Original Composition, World Artistry Music Award, 2025
About the Orchestra
The London City Philharmonic (LCP) presents symphonic and operatic repertoire and is committed to providing young musicians and soloists with meaningful professional performance opportunities through high-quality concert productions. During the 2024-2025 season, LCP undertook an extensive concert programme across China, appearing in major venues including Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, Shanghai Poly Theatre, Yangzhou Concert Hall and other leading concert halls nationwide. In 2024, the orchestra presented a fully staged production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Smith Square Hall, London. Earlier, in 2019, LCP collaborated with the London Bel Canto Festival on a performance of Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda. Alongside the core classical repertoire, LCP actively champions contemporary music. The orchestra has given the UK premieres of Fredrik Gran’s Picture of Fields Without Fences and Branka Popović’s Stardust for viola and string orchestra, both prize-winning works from the London Music Society Composers Competition. Further highlights include the UK premiere of Fatos Lumani’s Piano Concerto and the world premiere of Alex McGery’s Tereza on Petrin Hill for solo violin and string orchestra.
Olsi Qinami is Principal Conductor and Music Director of the London City Philharmonic, Conductor with the National Radio Television Orchestra of Albania, and Professor of Conducting at the University of Arts in Tirana.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Royal College of Music, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, Prince Consort Road, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
