At the age of nine, composer Carey Tan won the Silver Prize in Original Composition at the World Classical Music Competition with his original Symphony No. 1 – Four Seasons in Summer Fields, becoming the only child composer ever to receive an award in the history of the competition.
Four Seasons in Summer Fields was completed when Carey was eight years old and marks his first symphony. The work portrays the beautiful landscape and vibrant life of Summer Fields School in Oxford, as well as moments of homesickness he experienced as a young boarding pupil. Founded over 160 years ago, Summer Fields is a historic preparatory school and the place where Carey’s musical imagination first took root.
The symphony unfolds from autumn, through a brief winter and blossoming spring, to the brilliance of summer. In 2024, Carey performed the work with the Shenwan Symphony Orchestra at the Guangming Culture & Art Centre.
