Press/News
Tangram appointed Associate Artists at LSO St Luke's
25 August 2022
The LSO is delighted to announce that Tangram has been appointed Associate Artist at LSO St Luke’s for the next three seasons. Andra East, Head of LSO Discovery said: “The LSO is delighted to be working in partnership with Tangram as Associate Artists at LSO St Luke’s. It’s a delight to be able to support artists whose work has grown from the LSO’s composer development programmes and to support the evolution of their work to the next stage. We are looking forward to Tangram’s fresh and imaginative contribution to programming at LSO St Luke’s.”
What, where and why is silent music? London Symphony Orchestra
19 August 2022
On 28/29 August at LSO St Luke's, Tangram present Our Silence Is Your Silence, a concert exploring the boundaries between sound and silence. In preparation for the performance, Naomi Woo reflects on the many facets of silent music and beyond.
Julia Cheng, Alex Ho, Tangram awarded RPS Drummond Fund, Royal Philharmonic Society
9 August 2022
As long as there has been music, there has been dance. The Royal Philharmonic Society is proud to help composers and choreographers bring exciting new works to life, through the RPS Drummond Fund.
Tangram projects with O.Festival Rotterdam shortlisted for €250,000 Next Stage Opera Grant, Fedora Prize
29 April 2022
Fedora are happy to announce the 15 projects that have been shortlisted for the first edition of the Next Stage Grants. These inspiring projects in the field of opera and dance drive innovation through sustainability, inclusivity and digital transformation, and involve 48 cultural organisations and partners in 16 countries in Europe.
Alex Ho on BBC Radio 3 with Rana Mitter, Free Thinking
6 April 2022
We hear from three researchers about the latest thinking on Hong Kong ink art, representations of sleep, Chinese identity and contemporary classical music and insomnia from the cultural revolution to the present day.
LSO Review, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
2 February 2022
"Tangram are a collective we should all listen to. They have a distinctive group personality, taking us well beyond clichés about East-West connections and breaking down barriers. Their ideas are at the cutting edge of contemporary debates around identity and how this is expressed and communicated in musical terms."
Tangram on BBC Radio 3 with Tom Service, Music Matters
29 January 2022
Starting 37'14'' - Co-director Reylon Yount and composer Tonia Ko are interviewed by BBC Radio 3's Tom Service ahead of Tangram's concert at LSO St. Luke's including the world premiere of Tonia's Farewell Dwelling
Lunar New Year Premieres: Sticky Rice, Beijing Duck and a Musical Party, LSO St Luke's
14 January 2022
Two weeks ahead of our return to LSO St. Luke's to celebrate the new year, our three commissioned composers, Beibei Wang, Tonia Ko and Vivian Fung, share some thoughts around food, music, and Chinese identities
Tangram feature on Emmy The Great Journal, Pavilion Gallery
4 November 2021
We are delighted to have contributed to Pavilion Gallery's first published journal in Emmy The Great's article, Seeking the Roots of Silence, ahead of our celebration of the 70th anniversary of John Cage's 4'33'' in August 2021 at LSO St Luke's
Sun Keting Interview feat. Tangram co-commission, PRXLUDES
11 October 2021
Discover more about Tangram composer, Sun Keting in this fascinating interview featuring Erasure, co-commissioned with SilkRoad Ensemble in 2019, along with other stellar sounds including her commission for London Philharmonic Orchestra, that which is unseen...
Tangram recipients of £10,000 Kickstarter Fund, Genesis Foundation
13 September 2021
The Genesis Foundation has announced 19 new recipients of Genesis Kickstart Fund grants for arts projects run by creative freelancers throughout the UK. The grants have been allocated from the £1m Genesis Kickstart Fund, rolled out on the Foundation’s 20th anniversary with the aim of enabling outstanding freelance talent to produce future-facing arts projects.
Tangram feature on BBC Music Planet, BBC Radio 3
11 September 2021
Ahead of her Tangram debut on 23 September at Rich Mix London, pipa-virtuoso Cheng Yu is featured on BBC Music Planet along with one of her latest tracks combining pipa and xiao (0:5:48-0:14:55)
Alex Ho on Max Reinhardt's Late Lunch Show, Soho Radio
10 September 2021
Tune in to hear Tangram co-director Alex Ho introduce Tangram's upcoming concert on 23 September at Rich Mix London showcasing pipa-virtuoso Cheng Yu 1:48:00-2:04:00
Connection between Nature and Music, China Current
15 April 2021
In this second episode with international concert violinist Tasmin Little and yangqin player Reylon Yount, they explore the relationship between our planet and the music they perform. As one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, China's culture has a strong link to the natural world, from the designs on its traditional instruments, to the melodies that inspired its composers.
5 Questions to Reylon Yount, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
13 April 2021
Discover more about co-director Reylon Yount in this interview with Caroline Potter where he sheds light on his long association with Silk Road Ensemble, the first collaboration that sparked Tangram's launch, and the role the yangqin plays in locating his identity.
The Instrument from the Silk Road, China Current
11 April 2021
In her first interview as our Music Contributor, international concert violinist Tasmin Little speaks to Reylon Yount, a Chinese American graduate from Harvard who plays the yangqin as a soloist and with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. He recalls his unlikely story with the instrument, which he began learning in San Francisco and later in Beijing where his mother's family are from.
Sound Generator selection for Tangram project, Sound UK
29 March 2021
We are thrilled that co-director Alex Ho has been selected as a Sound Generator Artist 2021 with Sound UK. With the award, we will be developing a new interdisciplinary project responding to the racialized experiences of British-Chinese communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tangram wins coveted £20,000 grant, Jerwood Arts Live Work Fund
17 February 2021
We are honoured to have been chosen among 33 artist initiatives from a pool of 1283 applicants to receive £20,000 from Jerwood Arts to transform our live practice. Our focus will be on evolving the Tangram Youtube Channel into a platform for collaborative performance, community-building, and knowledge-sharing around the theme of transnational imagination.
Tangram commission "a tender elegy", Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
18 November 2020
Congratulations to Raymond Yiu whose Tangram commission, Corner of a Foreign Field, was shortlisted for an RPS Award for Chamber-Scale Composition and called a "tender elegy [that] beautifully entwines Chinese folk song with western instruments and the yangqin"
Tangram commission shortlisted, Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
14 October 2020
We are delighted that Raymond Yiu's Tangram commission, Corner of a Foreign Field, has been shortlisted for an RPS Award for Chamber-Scale Composition
'Take Note' Conversations, Muzewest Series
26 August 2020
Tangram co-directors, Alex and Reylon, joined Canadian concert series, Muzewest, for a conversation on Tangram's work and mission.
Review of Untold, Schmopera
24 August 2020
"...this was a piece that did not feel as though it existed musically as a complete score but more so in the gathering of people together, in the physicality of the performance space, and in the unknowable magic that occurs in the moment of performance itself...a collaborative tale of pride and grace."
Music Team Spotlights #2, British Council
7 July 2020
The second edition of our fortnightly spotlight brings you more curated tips by our team on music news, online performances, blogs, playlists, podcasts and album releases - to keep you entertained during lockdown and beyond.
New Music, New Ideas, London Symphony Orchestra
19 June 2020
The LSO have announced 'New Music, New Ideas', a week celebrating the LSO's rich contribution to new music including Tangram's launch concert of Tangram Voices on Saturday 27 June 2020 featuring music for four former/current LSO composers, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Raymond Yiu, Sun Keting, and Alex Ho.
George Butterworth Award, Sound and Music
30 April 2020
"The George Butterworth Award is awarded annually to a UK-based composer, for an outstanding new work created through one of Sound and Music’s Artist Development Programmes. We’re delighted to announce that this year’s winner of the £1,500 award is Alex Ho, for his work Untold."
Rituals and Resonances EP release, nonclassical
3 March 2020
"Meet our favourite emerging artists. The third edition of Nonclassical's annual series of EPs 'Outside the Lines' brings together work by our four Associate Composers for 2019–20, alongside a piece by Alex Ho and performed by the winner of Nonclassical's Battle of the Bands in 2020, Reylon."
Review of Lunar New Year Premieres, Round Revue
26 January 2020
"...you're unlikely to hear anything quite like a Tangram concert anywhere else."
Chinese New Year in London: Where to Celebrate the Year of the Rat, The Londonist
23 January 2020
"Rising artist collective Tangram performs a Lunar New Year concert at LSO St. Luke's"
Ancient Stone: Transnational identity and composition, British Music Collection
16 January 2020
"Jasmin Kent Rodgman investigates the relationship between her music and identity ahead of the premiere of her new piece, ancient stone, for Tangram at LSO St. Luke's"
January 2020: A Classic Start to the Year, Alternative Classical
23 December 2019
"Remixing ideas of what Chinese music and contemporary classical music can be, Tangram rings in the Lunar New Year with new music."
Lunar New Year Premieres blog, London Symphony Orchestra
18 December 2019
"We caught up with composers Raymond Yiu, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, and Alex Ho - all LSO composers past and present - to find out more about what we'll hear on Lunar New Year"
Associate Ensemble for 2019/20, SOAS
29 November 2019
"The SOAS Music Department are delighted to announce the appointment of Tangram as the new Associate Ensemble for 2019/2020"
Valerie Ebuwa on Untold, Review
12 November 2019
"This clever and thoughtful interpretation provided food for thought about prejudice, language, tradition and cultural identity. The use of text, dance, voice and music really allows the audience to reflect on their own lived experience of the world."
The Classical Music Pod, Interview
2 November 2019
Listen to Alex Ho's interview (from 34 minutes) on 'The Classical Music Pod', where he talks about his approach to composition and Tangram's premiere of his new stagework, Untold.
Meet the Artist: Julia Cheng
29 October 2019
Meet creative director and choreographer, Julia Cheng, who is performing with us in the premiere of Alex Ho's stagework, Untold, at Hackney Round Chapel on 5 November 2019.
Meet the Artist: Keith Pun
23 October 2019
Meet countertenor, Keith Pun, who is performing with us in the premiere of Alex Ho's stagework, Untold, at Hackney Round Chapel on 5 November 2019.
Tangram presents a new stagework by Alex Ho, Rhinegold Publishing
9 October 2019
"Tangram, creators and curators of new Chinese music, present a night of new music by British-Chinese composer Alex Ho, culminating in the world premiere of a new stage work, Untold, co-directed by Alex Ho and creative director and choreographer Julia Cheng."
Tangram composers commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra
6 September 2019
We are delighted for Sun Keting and Alex Ho who were both selected for commissions as part of the London Symphony Orchestra's Soundhub (Phase II).
Spiralling Scrolls, Programme Notes, London Symphony Orchestra
5 July 2019
"Gain an insight into Alex Ho's new piece for Reylon Yount and musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra as part of LSO Soundhub ahead of its premiere on 20th July 2019."
Review of Battle of the Bands 2019, nonclassical
23 January 2019
“After a couple of minutes, everyone in the room just stopped,” says Jessica Cottis. “I think we were really drawn into this visceral world of colour. It was very special.”
Introducing Tangram, Rhinegold Publishing
15 January 2019
"As winners of the Chinese Arts Now 2018 Artist Development Bursary, Tangram will perform a programme of new Chinese music at LSO St Luke’s on 25 January, part of the Chinese Arts Now Festival in London."
Artist Development Bursary Winners, Chinese Arts Now
10 January 2019
"We are delighted to announce the winners of our Bursary Scheme for CAN Festival 2019."
25 August 2022
The LSO is delighted to announce that Tangram has been appointed Associate Artist at LSO St Luke’s for the next three seasons. Andra East, Head of LSO Discovery said: “The LSO is delighted to be working in partnership with Tangram as Associate Artists at LSO St Luke’s. It’s a delight to be able to support artists whose work has grown from the LSO’s composer development programmes and to support the evolution of their work to the next stage. We are looking forward to Tangram’s fresh and imaginative contribution to programming at LSO St Luke’s.”
What, where and why is silent music? London Symphony Orchestra
19 August 2022
On 28/29 August at LSO St Luke's, Tangram present Our Silence Is Your Silence, a concert exploring the boundaries between sound and silence. In preparation for the performance, Naomi Woo reflects on the many facets of silent music and beyond.
Julia Cheng, Alex Ho, Tangram awarded RPS Drummond Fund, Royal Philharmonic Society
9 August 2022
As long as there has been music, there has been dance. The Royal Philharmonic Society is proud to help composers and choreographers bring exciting new works to life, through the RPS Drummond Fund.
Tangram projects with O.Festival Rotterdam shortlisted for €250,000 Next Stage Opera Grant, Fedora Prize
29 April 2022
Fedora are happy to announce the 15 projects that have been shortlisted for the first edition of the Next Stage Grants. These inspiring projects in the field of opera and dance drive innovation through sustainability, inclusivity and digital transformation, and involve 48 cultural organisations and partners in 16 countries in Europe.
Alex Ho on BBC Radio 3 with Rana Mitter, Free Thinking
6 April 2022
We hear from three researchers about the latest thinking on Hong Kong ink art, representations of sleep, Chinese identity and contemporary classical music and insomnia from the cultural revolution to the present day.
LSO Review, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
2 February 2022
"Tangram are a collective we should all listen to. They have a distinctive group personality, taking us well beyond clichés about East-West connections and breaking down barriers. Their ideas are at the cutting edge of contemporary debates around identity and how this is expressed and communicated in musical terms."
Tangram on BBC Radio 3 with Tom Service, Music Matters
29 January 2022
Starting 37'14'' - Co-director Reylon Yount and composer Tonia Ko are interviewed by BBC Radio 3's Tom Service ahead of Tangram's concert at LSO St. Luke's including the world premiere of Tonia's Farewell Dwelling
Lunar New Year Premieres: Sticky Rice, Beijing Duck and a Musical Party, LSO St Luke's
14 January 2022
Two weeks ahead of our return to LSO St. Luke's to celebrate the new year, our three commissioned composers, Beibei Wang, Tonia Ko and Vivian Fung, share some thoughts around food, music, and Chinese identities
Tangram feature on Emmy The Great Journal, Pavilion Gallery
4 November 2021
We are delighted to have contributed to Pavilion Gallery's first published journal in Emmy The Great's article, Seeking the Roots of Silence, ahead of our celebration of the 70th anniversary of John Cage's 4'33'' in August 2021 at LSO St Luke's
Sun Keting Interview feat. Tangram co-commission, PRXLUDES
11 October 2021
Discover more about Tangram composer, Sun Keting in this fascinating interview featuring Erasure, co-commissioned with SilkRoad Ensemble in 2019, along with other stellar sounds including her commission for London Philharmonic Orchestra, that which is unseen...
Tangram recipients of £10,000 Kickstarter Fund, Genesis Foundation
13 September 2021
The Genesis Foundation has announced 19 new recipients of Genesis Kickstart Fund grants for arts projects run by creative freelancers throughout the UK. The grants have been allocated from the £1m Genesis Kickstart Fund, rolled out on the Foundation’s 20th anniversary with the aim of enabling outstanding freelance talent to produce future-facing arts projects.
Tangram feature on BBC Music Planet, BBC Radio 3
11 September 2021
Ahead of her Tangram debut on 23 September at Rich Mix London, pipa-virtuoso Cheng Yu is featured on BBC Music Planet along with one of her latest tracks combining pipa and xiao (0:5:48-0:14:55)
Alex Ho on Max Reinhardt's Late Lunch Show, Soho Radio
10 September 2021
Tune in to hear Tangram co-director Alex Ho introduce Tangram's upcoming concert on 23 September at Rich Mix London showcasing pipa-virtuoso Cheng Yu 1:48:00-2:04:00
Connection between Nature and Music, China Current
15 April 2021
In this second episode with international concert violinist Tasmin Little and yangqin player Reylon Yount, they explore the relationship between our planet and the music they perform. As one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, China's culture has a strong link to the natural world, from the designs on its traditional instruments, to the melodies that inspired its composers.
5 Questions to Reylon Yount, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
13 April 2021
Discover more about co-director Reylon Yount in this interview with Caroline Potter where he sheds light on his long association with Silk Road Ensemble, the first collaboration that sparked Tangram's launch, and the role the yangqin plays in locating his identity.
The Instrument from the Silk Road, China Current
11 April 2021
In her first interview as our Music Contributor, international concert violinist Tasmin Little speaks to Reylon Yount, a Chinese American graduate from Harvard who plays the yangqin as a soloist and with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. He recalls his unlikely story with the instrument, which he began learning in San Francisco and later in Beijing where his mother's family are from.
Sound Generator selection for Tangram project, Sound UK
29 March 2021
We are thrilled that co-director Alex Ho has been selected as a Sound Generator Artist 2021 with Sound UK. With the award, we will be developing a new interdisciplinary project responding to the racialized experiences of British-Chinese communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tangram wins coveted £20,000 grant, Jerwood Arts Live Work Fund
17 February 2021
We are honoured to have been chosen among 33 artist initiatives from a pool of 1283 applicants to receive £20,000 from Jerwood Arts to transform our live practice. Our focus will be on evolving the Tangram Youtube Channel into a platform for collaborative performance, community-building, and knowledge-sharing around the theme of transnational imagination.
Tangram commission "a tender elegy", Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
18 November 2020
Congratulations to Raymond Yiu whose Tangram commission, Corner of a Foreign Field, was shortlisted for an RPS Award for Chamber-Scale Composition and called a "tender elegy [that] beautifully entwines Chinese folk song with western instruments and the yangqin"
Tangram commission shortlisted, Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
14 October 2020
We are delighted that Raymond Yiu's Tangram commission, Corner of a Foreign Field, has been shortlisted for an RPS Award for Chamber-Scale Composition
'Take Note' Conversations, Muzewest Series
26 August 2020
Tangram co-directors, Alex and Reylon, joined Canadian concert series, Muzewest, for a conversation on Tangram's work and mission.
Review of Untold, Schmopera
24 August 2020
"...this was a piece that did not feel as though it existed musically as a complete score but more so in the gathering of people together, in the physicality of the performance space, and in the unknowable magic that occurs in the moment of performance itself...a collaborative tale of pride and grace."
Music Team Spotlights #2, British Council
7 July 2020
The second edition of our fortnightly spotlight brings you more curated tips by our team on music news, online performances, blogs, playlists, podcasts and album releases - to keep you entertained during lockdown and beyond.
New Music, New Ideas, London Symphony Orchestra
19 June 2020
The LSO have announced 'New Music, New Ideas', a week celebrating the LSO's rich contribution to new music including Tangram's launch concert of Tangram Voices on Saturday 27 June 2020 featuring music for four former/current LSO composers, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, Raymond Yiu, Sun Keting, and Alex Ho.
George Butterworth Award, Sound and Music
30 April 2020
"The George Butterworth Award is awarded annually to a UK-based composer, for an outstanding new work created through one of Sound and Music’s Artist Development Programmes. We’re delighted to announce that this year’s winner of the £1,500 award is Alex Ho, for his work Untold."
Rituals and Resonances EP release, nonclassical
3 March 2020
"Meet our favourite emerging artists. The third edition of Nonclassical's annual series of EPs 'Outside the Lines' brings together work by our four Associate Composers for 2019–20, alongside a piece by Alex Ho and performed by the winner of Nonclassical's Battle of the Bands in 2020, Reylon."
Review of Lunar New Year Premieres, Round Revue
26 January 2020
"...you're unlikely to hear anything quite like a Tangram concert anywhere else."
Chinese New Year in London: Where to Celebrate the Year of the Rat, The Londonist
23 January 2020
"Rising artist collective Tangram performs a Lunar New Year concert at LSO St. Luke's"
Ancient Stone: Transnational identity and composition, British Music Collection
16 January 2020
"Jasmin Kent Rodgman investigates the relationship between her music and identity ahead of the premiere of her new piece, ancient stone, for Tangram at LSO St. Luke's"
January 2020: A Classic Start to the Year, Alternative Classical
23 December 2019
"Remixing ideas of what Chinese music and contemporary classical music can be, Tangram rings in the Lunar New Year with new music."
Lunar New Year Premieres blog, London Symphony Orchestra
18 December 2019
"We caught up with composers Raymond Yiu, Jasmin Kent Rodgman, and Alex Ho - all LSO composers past and present - to find out more about what we'll hear on Lunar New Year"
Associate Ensemble for 2019/20, SOAS
29 November 2019
"The SOAS Music Department are delighted to announce the appointment of Tangram as the new Associate Ensemble for 2019/2020"
Valerie Ebuwa on Untold, Review
12 November 2019
"This clever and thoughtful interpretation provided food for thought about prejudice, language, tradition and cultural identity. The use of text, dance, voice and music really allows the audience to reflect on their own lived experience of the world."
The Classical Music Pod, Interview
2 November 2019
Listen to Alex Ho's interview (from 34 minutes) on 'The Classical Music Pod', where he talks about his approach to composition and Tangram's premiere of his new stagework, Untold.
Meet the Artist: Julia Cheng
29 October 2019
Meet creative director and choreographer, Julia Cheng, who is performing with us in the premiere of Alex Ho's stagework, Untold, at Hackney Round Chapel on 5 November 2019.
Meet the Artist: Keith Pun
23 October 2019
Meet countertenor, Keith Pun, who is performing with us in the premiere of Alex Ho's stagework, Untold, at Hackney Round Chapel on 5 November 2019.
Tangram presents a new stagework by Alex Ho, Rhinegold Publishing
9 October 2019
"Tangram, creators and curators of new Chinese music, present a night of new music by British-Chinese composer Alex Ho, culminating in the world premiere of a new stage work, Untold, co-directed by Alex Ho and creative director and choreographer Julia Cheng."
Tangram composers commissioned by London Symphony Orchestra
6 September 2019
We are delighted for Sun Keting and Alex Ho who were both selected for commissions as part of the London Symphony Orchestra's Soundhub (Phase II).
Spiralling Scrolls, Programme Notes, London Symphony Orchestra
5 July 2019
"Gain an insight into Alex Ho's new piece for Reylon Yount and musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra as part of LSO Soundhub ahead of its premiere on 20th July 2019."
Review of Battle of the Bands 2019, nonclassical
23 January 2019
“After a couple of minutes, everyone in the room just stopped,” says Jessica Cottis. “I think we were really drawn into this visceral world of colour. It was very special.”
Introducing Tangram, Rhinegold Publishing
15 January 2019
"As winners of the Chinese Arts Now 2018 Artist Development Bursary, Tangram will perform a programme of new Chinese music at LSO St Luke’s on 25 January, part of the Chinese Arts Now Festival in London."
Artist Development Bursary Winners, Chinese Arts Now
10 January 2019
"We are delighted to announce the winners of our Bursary Scheme for CAN Festival 2019."