About

Aslan X. Shi (formerly, Allan X. Chen) is an award-winning, South African-born composer of contemporary classical music and original scores for film and media. His approach to each is distinct and separate, but with curiosity and passion deeply embedded into both.

Shi’s concert works, for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir and electronics, have been performed by symphony orchestras and new-music ensembles internationally, and are known for long melodic lines, luminous string textures and an unusual command of scale.

Aslan X. Shi (formerly, Allan X. Chen) is an award-winning, South African-born composer of contemporary classical music and original scores for film and media. His approach to each is distinct and separate, but with curiosity and passion deeply embedded into both.

Shi’s concert works, for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir and electronics, have been performed by symphony orchestras and new-music ensembles internationally, and are known for long melodic lines, luminous string textures and an unusual command of scale.

Trained in composition at conservatory (BMus, then MMus with distinction), Shi first came to attention with a string quartet and a set of piano nocturnes, and in 2019 won First Prize at the International Composers’ Competition. A residency at an electroacoustic studio followed, and with it a lasting interest in the meeting point of acoustic instruments, recorded sound and silence.

Since then the catalogue has grown to more than thirty works, from the large-format epic of Monolith for brass and percussion to the close listening of Field Recordings for ensemble and electronics. Shi’s Symphony No. 1 “Steppe” was premiered by the City Symphony Orchestra in 2025, at the end of a three-year composer-in-residence post with the orchestra.

Alongside the concert hall, Shi writes for the screen. Scores for feature films, documentaries, series and games include Mira Ostrova’s Polar Night, which received Best Original Score at the International Film Music Awards in 2025.

Shi also teaches composition and mentors young composers and artists, including through Colab SA in South Africa.