Described as "evocative and kaleidoscopic” and “beautiful and gripping”, the music of JUNO-nominated composer Dorothy Chang reflects an eclectic mix of influences ranging from popular and folk music to elements of traditional Chinese music. Many of her works are inspired by place, time, memory, and the question of cultural identity. Dorothy’s catalog includes over eighty compositions with a particular interest in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration, including works for mixed Chinese and Western ensembles as well those involving staging, movement, theatre, video and dance.
Dorothy’s music has been commissioned and performed by ensembles including the Albany, Houston, Indianapolis, Montreal, Pittsburg, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria Symphonies, Calgary Philharmonic, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, as well as chamber ensembles including eighth blackbird, the Emily Carr String Quartet, the Smith Quartet, the Chicago Saxophone Quartet, Chai Found Music Workshop, Collage New Music, Land’s End Ensemble, Music from China, and Soundstreams, among many others. Her orchestral work Precipice, commissioned
by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, was performed as part of the orchestra’s 2023 US tour to the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.
Dorothy has received awards and accolades from organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP, the Barlow Endowment, Canada Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America and the Fromm Music Foundation. In 2022, she won the Western Canadian Music Award for “Classical Composer of the Year” for her flute concerto Flight.
A dedicated educator, Dorothy currently serves as Professor of Music at the University of British Columbia,