Artistic and writing consultants
Biography
Tian Zaili was born in Baotou in 1958 and began learning flute and erhu at age six. He entered the Central Conservatory of Music in 1977 to study huqin with Lan Yusong and remained there to teach after graduating in 1982. He introduced elective gaohu study in 1985, Guangdong music in 2005, and directed string-instrument teaching and research from 2011 to 2018.
As a performer, he received third prize in the 1984 Beijing third national youth erhu competition. In 1987, while leading the Guangdong Music group and performing gaohu, his ensemble won first prize at the fourth Yangcheng Flower event; in 1992, his ensemble won first prize at the second Jiangnan Sizhu competition in Shanghai.
He received first prize in the Central Conservatory’s Shen Xingong Music Scholarship in 1991–92 and teaching commendations in 1992–93 and 1999–2000. Students he guided included Jin Yue, second-place winner in a 2000 Taipei concerto competition; Sun Ting, first-place winner in Longyin competitions in 1994 and 1997; and Xu Mengge and Xu Wenyi, who received awards in national youth and CCTV instrumental competitions between 2005 and 2009.
Beginning with a 1990 recital at Beijing Concert Hall, he presented solo and teacher-student concerts in Beijing, Baotou, Xi’an, Jiujiang, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other cities. His concert and lecture tours reached Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Hungary, and Finland.
His albums included Liu Tianhua, Abing, Modern Erhu, and Guangdong Music collections. Video publications included Music Classroom and Masters and Masterpieces, and his instructional book included Erhu Basics. He also served as an adjudicator for instrumental competitions.
Professional areas
- Huqin
- Conservatory teaching
- Curriculum development