Mister Tan Dun

I happened to come across this conductor in the video when I was viewing the Youtube Symphony Orchestra play "Eroica". Watching him waver his hands with passion in a comical manner caught my attention.

I "googled" for his name and dissected through what I could find (google could be very helpful at times). Aside from being a conductor, Mr. Tan Dun also composes scores for different people and purposes. He alos creates scores for films, among which he did include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. 

He came from a Hunan village in China from a family of peasants. Thus, he utilized them to form a musical group when he had fallen in love with music. To escape from the commune, Tan Dun allowed himself to be employed by the Beijing Opera when the ferry capsized near their place. From there he went to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and further moved to New York City to pursue a doctorate degree at Columbia University. He makes his sound distinct by using non traditional and organic instruments or at least making his piece sound like it.

Water Concerto - Tan Dun