Biographical Details

Tazul Izan Tajuddin was born in Banting in 1969, educated at St. John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has been a British resident since 1997. Taught himself guitar at 15, gained access to Western classical music at 18 and began composing at 24. He studied music at Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia) and studied Western classical and Malaysian traditional music. He played in a traditional ensemble professionally between 1991 until 1993 performing, accompanying dancers and participating in Folk Arts Festivals in Malaysia, Indonesia and France. At the same time he joined National Choir of Malaysia as Malay folk arranger, assistant conductor and performer and later was invited as guest conductor in 1997 and again in 2003. He won a scholarship initiated by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Culture and went to Carnegie Mellon University to study composition, graduating with Master's in Music Composition in 1996. He gained another scholarship and received his PhD in composition with 'The Study of Arabesque' in 2002 from the University of Sussex.

His music has been inspired by Asian cultures (especially Malaysian and Indonesian), decorative and visual arts, gamelan music and Islamic geometrical patterns combined with multi-cultural contemporary ideals. In particular, the 'Arabesque', 'Tenunan', 'Mediasi Ukiran' and 'Gamelbati' cycles are inspired by the concept of woven sound, resulting in texture-based compositions or 'sound fabric'. He worked out his own method of composing and considered himself self-taught though he later received valuable guidance from teachers Leonardo Balada, Juan Pablo Izqueirdo, Martin Butler, Jonathan Harvey, Michael Finnissy, Franco Donatoni (Manuel de Falla Festival 1996, Spain), consultations with Brian Ferneyhough (IRCAM Academie d'ete 2001, France), meeting Iannis Xenakis in Pittsburgh and New York and in 1999 encouragement from Henri Dutilleux who described him as 'a very finely gifted composer.' In 2003 he was invited by Toshio Hosokawa to the Takefu International Music Festival in Japan.

He has received 1st Prize in the Lutoslawski Composition Award 2005 (Poland) with 'Gamelbati III' for string quartet, 1st Prize in the 21st Japan Society of Contemporary Music (JSCM) Competition 2004 with 'Mediasi Ukiran V-Tenunan XII' for flute, clarinet, violin and cello, 1st Prize in the 2nd Molinari Quartet International Composition Competition 2004 (Canada) with 'Mediasi Ukiran-Tenunan VIII' for string quartet, 1st Prize in the 8th Tokyo International Competition for Chamber Music Composition 2003 with 'Sebuah Tenunan IV' for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, 1st Prize in the Toru Takemitsu Composition Award 2002 (Joji Yuasa: jury) with 'Tenunan II' for flute, celeste, piano percussion and string orchestra and won the New Millennium Composition Award 2004/05 (United Kingdom) with 'Gamelbati-Mediasi Ukiran III' for gamelan ensemble and chamber orchestra. His other works also have been selected as finalist in the 4th Seoul International Competition for Composers 2006 (South Korea) with 'Gamelbati VI' for piccolo, clarinet, violin, viola and cello , EARPLAY Donald Aird Memorial Composer's Competition 2006 (San Francisco, USA) with 'Mediasi Ukiran-Tenunan VIII', Derek Shiel's Sound Sculpture Composition Competition 2001 (United Kingdom) with 'Mantera...', Edvard Grieg Composition Competition 2000 (Norway) and Carnegie Mellon Composer's Competition 1996 (USA).

He has been a shortlisted composer three times by the Society for Promotion of New Music (spnm) UK (who received almost 500 applications each year) from 2001-2004 with 'Jeritan' for string quartet, 2004-2007 with 'Arabesque IV-Tenunan VII' for solo guitar and 2007-2010 with 'Gamelbati III' for string quartet. His work Tenunan for chamber ensemble was selected by the Asian Music Festival (Asian Composer's League-ACL) 2003 in Japan and Mantera... for solo flute and 2 percussionists was performed in the BBCSO-Gamelan Project 2004 and 'Mediasi Ukiran II' for orchestra was performed by BBC Symphony Orchestra. 'Kehalusan Ukiran' for chamber ensemble was selected in the spnm-London Sinfonietta Invention Day 2004 and broadcast with short interview on the BBC Radio 3. Also in the same year, he conducted a work commissioned by National Choir  and National Symphony of Malaysia and performed at the National Arts Theatre, as the first composer to do so. In 2006, International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) Britain has selected his work 'Tenunan II'  and will be performed in the ISCM World Music Days 2007 in Hong Kong. Selindung Warna for solo violin was performed by David Alberman as part of spnm Solo Spotlights Project curated by Rolf Hind. His collaboration with writer, blogger, Alistair Appleton in spnm 'Space Behind Words' project resulting in performance of 'In Liquid Praise of Sound Refraining' for speaker, 4 singers and electronics at Wilton's Music Hall as part of the Spitalfields Music Festival in London. His  piano and chamber orchestra 'Warna Yang Bernada' was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to be performed at Cadogan Hall London in the 50th Malaysian Golden Anniversary Concert 2007 by Bobby Chen and London Sinfonietta. His work 'Laugh' was commissioned by Derek Shiel for the 100 years celebration of Futurist movement in a concert, 'The Futurist Updated' in 2009 as part of 'Noise Conference' hosted by the Central School of Speech and Drama, London. 

His works have been performed and broadcast in North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. Performers of his works include BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Malaysian Symphony Orchestra, National Choir of Malaysia, Carnegie Philharmonic Orchestra, Carnegie Contemporary Ensemble, Alter Ego Ensemble, Molinari Quartet, Art Respirant Ensemble, Alpha Ensemble and Duo G. Selmi. He was the first Malay composer to conduct his own work at Istana Budaya (National Theatre of Malaysia) and to have an orchestral work commissioned and performed at Petronas Twin Towers concert hall in Malaysia. He has given lecture on 'Composing Without Borders - the Mediation of East and West' at University of Kingston, UCE Birmingham Conservatoire and University of the Arts, London among others. Tazul has also conducted his own works and currently performing, collaborating and conducting with the Sculpted Sound Ensemble and artistic director Derek Shiel since 2000. In 2009, he has been appointed Associate Professor in Composition at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Chairman of the Performance Committee. He participated in UiMusic International Music Conference 2009 and is the artistic director and conductor to a New Chamber Ensemble at UiTM.

Click here for video/sound extract of 'Selindung Warna' for solo violin posted by spnm:
http://www.http//vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individuals&videoid=11659711

(Feb 2010)