Sebastian Chang is a composer & pianist based in southern California. He utilizes a combination of traditional craft and modern aesthetics to create his unique style. His first major performance as a piano soloist was of his composition Concertino for Piano and Orchestra with the Tokyo Symphony at the age of 9. Sebastian obtained his B.M. in Composition from the Curtis Institute of Music & an M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern California. From '16-'18, Sebastian was the Resident Composer for the Louisville Orchestra.
Sebastian is the youngest three time BMI Student Composer Awards recipient. He received his first award at the age of 14 (receiving the Carlos Surinach Prize that year for being the youngest recipient), his second award at the age of 17, and third award at the age of 19. BMI has since reduced the maximum amount of awards per individual from three to two.
Sebastian is a Davidson Fellow Laureate through the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Click on the picture below for the Davidson Institute's coverage of the '02 Awards Ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
Sebastian played keyboard in the Louisville Orchestra in the album “The American Project” featuring Yuja Wang as piano soloist and compositions by Teddy Abrams and Michael Tilson Thomas, which won a Grammy in the "Best Instrumental Classical Solo" category in '24.
Sebastian's compositions have been performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Britt Festival Orchestra, the Louisville Chamber Choir, the NouLou Chamber Players, the Louisville Ballet, and the Louisville Orchestra.
His Symphony, premiered in January '15 by the Louisville Orchestra, is subject of Episode 9: “First Symphony” of the Music Makes a City Now documentary.
Between Heaven and Earth, based on oil paintings of visual artist Vian Sora, premiered on February '18, performed by the Louisville Orchestra & Louisville Chamber Choir at the Kentucky Center in Louisville, KY.
Cryptogenic Infrastructure Fantasy for violin, clarinet, piano, and timpani, premiered in July '18 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center as part of ChamberFest Cleveland. It received its second performance at St. Stephen's Anglican Church in Calgary, Canada, in December '18.
Sebastian's Piano Concerto "The Empress", for piano and full orchestra, premiered on June 17, '22, in Jacksonville, Oregon, by the Britt Festival Orchestra, featuring the composer as piano soloist.
His new Piano Trio No. 2 “Beyond Silence” premiered Sunday, November 20, '22, performed by the Trio Barclay at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.
He is Louisville Orchestra’s first-call pianist. He worked the summer '22 Britt Orchestra Season as Orchestral Pianist following the premiere of his Piano Concerto. He is an instructor in the Instrumental Music conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts. His publishing company is Sebastian Press, registered under the American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers (ASCAP).
