Luminary award
Charlie Chan (they/them) is an Australian composer, pianist, multi-instrumentalist and creative technologist with a career spanning over forty years, underscored by a lifelong commitment to creative practice, innovation, advocacy and access.
united nations performance
New York
In November 2019 Charlie performed at the United Nations General Assembly in New York as part of the UNICEF summit held on World Children’s Day to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Together with the PS22 Chorus, a 60-strong children’s choir from Staten Island, Charlie performed their original song We The Children commissioned for Damon Gameau’s climate change documentary 2040.
CONSTELLATION
THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF SOLO PIANO WORKS EVER RELEASED
52 albums x 52 weeks
Constellation the largest collection of solo piano works ever released anywhere in the world, was launched on January 20th 2023, by Australian composer and performer Charlie Chan (they/them).
The collection comprised over 390 never-before-released tracks, with a new Constellation album released every Friday for an entire year. Each album was named after a constellation visible in the night sky on the day of its release.
the interactive orchestra
Sydney Opera House
In 2017, the Interactive Orchestra, a Global Orchestra project, took to the stage at the Sydney Opera House in a performance that proved music and technology could work hand-in-hand.
Under the direction of Artistic Director Charlie Chan, the Global Orchestra worked alongside the Accenture Liquid Studio team to create an orchestra like no other: Part organic sounds and superb musicianship, part robotics and new technology.
In a world-first, an artificial intelligence robot - Baxter - was a key member of the orchestral performance, playing the marimba… even performing a solo in front of a live audience!
Global Orchestra
In 2012, Charlie founded the Global Orchestra Foundation with Nathan Waks (Cellist) & Justin Baird (Technologist).
The Global Orchestra is a not-for-profit organisation with an ambitious vision: to use music as an agent for social and environmental change.
During Earth Hour 2015 the Global Orchestra, with the support of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, facilitated the Concert for the Planet. This was a mass-participation, multi-location, simultaneous performance of Holst’s The Planets. From the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House Chief Conductor David Robertson led thousands of musicians all over the world in performance watched by millions. The synchronisation of the musicians was made possible by Conductor-Cam a technology developed by Charlie Chan.
Nasa joins GLOBAL ORCHESTRA
Langley Research Centre, Virginia
The Concert for the Planet included a unique contribution from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with NASA staff and symphonic musicians from the region coming together to participate at NASA HQ.
Charlie Chan was invited to deliver a keynote as part of Langley Research Centre’s Colloquium and Sigma Lectures.
World Record: Longest Improvised Piano Concert Ever
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26 HOURS : 5 MINUTES : 20 SECONDS
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World Record: Longest Improvised Piano Concert Ever ○ 26 HOURS : 5 MINUTES : 20 SECONDS ○
Supernova
This 24-hour concert, Supernova, was a marathon endurance performance by Charlie Chan, one of Australia's leading concert pianists, composers, and creative innovationists.
This never-before-attempted concert event served as a retrospective of Charlie's 40-year career as a virtuoso pianist and composer.
The concert incorporated curated phases that brought together a mix of classical, contemporary, jazz, and experimental music, all live, all day, all night, on HoTA's Outdoor Stage.