Donald Quan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Donald Quan (born 1962) is a Canadian
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
of film and world music, best known for writing the
score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
s to television shows ''
Relic Hunter ''Relic Hunter'' is a Canadian adventure television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. It centres on Sydney Fox, a professor who is also a globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and ...
'' and '' Mutant X''.


Career

Born in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, and schooled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Quan was the recipient of the Joe Venuti scholarship for stringed instrument performance. After Quan left college, he ventured into pop/rock music with the Canadian rock band
Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
and played with them for three years. In 1988 Quan joined the Canadian rock group
Eye Eye Eye Eye was a Canadian rock band in the 1980s. at canoe.ca's Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia. Background The band had its roots in The Oh Nos, a Toronto band whose members included vocalist Bill Wood and guitarist Andy Ryan. After that band brok ...
as a keyboardist and violist. He also performed as a multi-instrumentalist with the performance artist
Meryn Cadell Meryn Cadell is an American-Canadian writer and performance artist. He is an assistant professor of song lyrics and libretto writing in the Creative Writing Program at University of British Columbia. Early life and education Cadell was born in Br ...
, the Celtic-rock band
Enter the Haggis Enter the Haggis is a Canadians, Canadian Celtic rock band based in Toronto. The band was founded in 1995 by Craig Downie, the only remaining original member in the lineup, which currently consists of Downie (highland bagpipes, vocals), Brian Bu ...
, alt-rock band Cliché Verre and Juno nominated Afro-Canadian pop ensemble Kaleefah. Quan has been a long-time band member of Canadian singer
Loreena McKennitt Loreena McKennitt (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic music, Celtic and Middle Eastern music, Middle Eastern influences. McKenni ...
and has assisted in the production of several studio albums and recordings including the acclaimed '' The Book of Secrets''. Quan collapsed on Saturday, August 8, 2009 playing keyboards with Derek Miller in Kitchener, Ontario for the Kitchener Bluesfest when he collapsed onstage. He has since fully recovered. Since 2007 Donald Quan's music shop of musical instrument curiosities MUSIDEUM has become known as a premiere concert venue for all genres of music from all over the world.


Music for film and television

Quan’s film music company Q Music Inc. has provided music services to hundreds of television, film, radio and multi-media productions including the popular television shows ''
Relic Hunter ''Relic Hunter'' is a Canadian adventure television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. It centres on Sydney Fox, a professor who is also a globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and ...
'' (starring
Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''. Carrere played Cassandra Wong i ...
for Fireworks Entertainment), '' Mutant X'' (Tribune Entertainment), '' Tracker'' (starring
Adrian Paul Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, martial artist and director best known for the title role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series '' Highlander: The Series''. In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organis ...
for Lions Gate), ''
Starhunter ''Starhunter'' (and in the original Season Two ''Starhunter 2300'') is a Canadian science fiction television series that aired for two seasons. The series was produced in Canada by The Danforth Studios Ltd. (a D'or/Jackson Company)
'', and ''
The War Next Door ''The War Next Door'' is an American sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi. The show used non-canon humor as one of the two main characters dies at the end of each episode, only to reappear alive the following episode as if nothing ...
'', the notable Aboriginal TV drama ''
Moccasin Flats ''Moccasin Flats'' is a Canadian drama television series that ran for three full seasons. The show, which has aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Showcase Television since 2004, is co-produced by Big Soul Productions ...
'' as well as feature films '' Expecting'', and
Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
. Other notable projects include scoring the four-part documentary '' China Rises'' for
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
, one of the first HD-TV projects for the network. Quan is also responsible for the well recognized world music-tinged theme for CBC Radio's ''Metro Morning''. Recently (2020) Quan scored the feature documentary '' Gods In Shackles'' (with Janal Bechthold), and 3 Holiday MOVs '' Mistletoe Magic'', '' A Very Corgi Christmas'' and ''
Christmas By Chance Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
'' (with Jim Gelcer). In 2019 he scored the documentaries ''
My Farmland My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...
'' (CBC) and ''Running Home'' and the social feature documentary ''
Queer Cooli-tudes ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non-cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to r ...
'' In 2020 his scoring projects include ''
Herstory Herstory is a term for history written from a feminist perspective and emphasizing the role of women, or told from a woman's point of view. It originated as an alteration of the word "history", as part of a feminist critique of conventional his ...
'' (PBS)


Music style

Donald Quan is especially well known for his diverse work in the area of contemporary World Music. The Q Music studios house an instrument collection of over 400 indigenous instruments from 6 continents. His CDs Tear of the Sun (with
Ron Korb Ron Korb is a Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist (flautist) and composer. Musical style Korb is best known for writing culturally diverse music and his mastery of a wide array of world music wind instruments. His work spans a range of genres incl ...
) and Invocata (recorded at
Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...
) have garnered acclaim worldwide. Quan has toured China and Japan with longtime collaborators
Ron Korb Ron Korb is a Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist (flautist) and composer. Musical style Korb is best known for writing culturally diverse music and his mastery of a wide array of world music wind instruments. His work spans a range of genres incl ...
and George Gao playing music dubbed New Chinese Jazz, a blend of jazz improvisation and traditional Chinese melodies. Quan has left his mark on the Canadian world music scene by collaborating with organizations such as the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, Brazilian-influenced percussion group Samba Squad, M-Do Kathak Dance Company and renowned First Nations choreographer Santee Smith (Kaha:wi Dance Theatre). Aboriginal music has always been a passion of Donald Quan and he has contributed greatly to the Canadian Aboriginal music scene. He has collaborated with theatrical company
Red Sky Performance Red Sky Performance is a Canadian indigenous dance, theatre, and music company, founded by artistic director Sandra Laronde in 2000. Red Sky Performance creates, produces and tours original work for adult and family audiences on local, national and ...
, Santee Smith, Kahawii Dance Theatre, created theme music for ''APTN'' and has composed numerous film scores for Big Soul Productions including the series By The Rapids and
Moccasin Flats ''Moccasin Flats'' is a Canadian drama television series that ran for three full seasons. The show, which has aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Showcase Television since 2004, is co-produced by Big Soul Productions ...
, for which he was nominated for a
Gemini award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...
for "Best score in a dramatic series". He has worked intimately with Aboriginal recording artists for 10 years as musical director for the annual Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. He has been a full-time member of the Derek Miller Band and has recently taught a course on film music composition on
Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island ( ) is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia (bioregion), Laurentia. With an area of , it is the Lake ...
as part of the Weengushk organization. As acknowledgement for his contributions, Quan was honoured in 2007 with the Music Industry Award at the 9th annual Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.


Awards and nominations

Gemini Award Nomination 2002: Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series: ''Relic Hunter'' Gemini Award Nomination 2003: Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series: ''Mutant X'' Gemini Award Nomination 2006: Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series: ''Moccasin Flats'' Season III – The Other Side Gemini Award Nomination 2006: Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series: ''The In between World of M.G. Vassanji'' SOCAN International Television Series Award (2007/2006/2004): ''Relic Hunter'' Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards: Music Industry Award (2006) Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards Nomination: Best Score in an Aboriginal film/television program (2008)


Selected discography

''The Relaxations of Katt''
Q Music 2017
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer ''17 Minutes of Sleep''
Toronto Rehab Foundation 2010
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer Solitudes – ''Zen of Sleep''
Somerset 2007
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer Solitudes – ''Zen Relaxation''
Somerset 2006
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer Solitudes – ''Mysterious Places''
Somerset 2006
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer Hallmark - ''Feng Shui''
Somerset 2006
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer
Ron Korb Ron Korb is a Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist (flautist) and composer. Musical style Korb is best known for writing culturally diverse music and his mastery of a wide array of world music wind instruments. His work spans a range of genres incl ...
/ Donald Quan - ''Seasons''
Humble Dragon 2005
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer, Producer (with
Ron Korb Ron Korb is a Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist (flautist) and composer. Musical style Korb is best known for writing culturally diverse music and his mastery of a wide array of world music wind instruments. His work spans a range of genres incl ...
) Solitudes - ''Asian Spa''
Somerset 2004
Donald Quan - Composer, Performer
Ron Korb Ron Korb is a Grammy-nominated Canadian flutist (flautist) and composer. Musical style Korb is best known for writing culturally diverse music and his mastery of a wide array of world music wind instruments. His work spans a range of genres incl ...
- ''Celtic Heartland''
Humble Dragon 2000
Donald Quan - Producer Loreena McKennitt - ''Live In Paris And Toronto''
Quinlan Road 1999
Donald Quan - Multi-Instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt - ''Book of Secrets''
Quinlan/Warner 1997
(Recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios)
Donald Quan - Multi-Instrumentalist/Assistant to Producer Loreena McKennitt - ''A Winter Garden''
Quinlan/Warner 1996
Donald Quan - Multi-Instrumentalist ''Myakudo Taiko'' (Traditional Japanese Music)
Independent 1992
Donald Quan - Producer Donald Quan - ''Invocata''
Oasis 1990
Donald Quan Composer, Performer Carol Lipson - ''Try And Imagine''
Donald Quan - Producer/Arranger


References


External links

*
Donald Quan on MyspacePeople at the Banff Centre - Donald Quan
Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...
. Accessed 2011-04-05. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quan, Donald 1962 births Living people Canadian film score composers Canadian rock musicians Canadian television composers Lighthouse (band) members Canadian male film score composers Musicians from Toronto