Su Lian Tan is a much sought after flutist and composer. Her music has been described as “the stunner of the evening,” (Washington Post) and “…refined, cultured compositions… Rewarding for everyone..a must own”(Fanfare). “Lotus Lives démontre que Montréal prend sa place dans la modernité de l’art lyrique. (Lotus Lives demonstrates that Montreal takes its place in the modernity of opera).” - Frederic Cardin, CBC Radio Canada. “Wonderfully dramatic music….a spike of energy recalls the trio in Beethoven’s second Razumovsky” (Gramophone).

Making her first recordings at the age of 14, she has been featured in Flute Talk, Gramophone, Fanfare and American Record Guide. Tan has been commissioned by groups such as the Grammy-winning Takacs String Quartet, Da Capo Chamber Players, and Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Recordings of her music include PanSync, which features Carol Wincenc performing Autumn Lute-Song and Tan as a flutist. Ms. Wincenc has most recently performed it at the Tianjin Juilliard and recorded it with Andy Lin, erhu. Other releases include The Other Pictures, commissioned and performed by pianist May Phang and the album Revelations named for a piano quintet commissioned for cellist Sophie Shao. Her intermedia chamber opera Lotus Lives was performed to great acclaim. Ming, composed for Joe Burgstaller (trumpet) had its premiere performance in Singapore. Commissions include Legends of Kintamani a cello concerto for Darrett Adkins, and Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra for Nicola Mazzanti, premiered at the Galway Flute Festival and the International Piccolo festival in Italy. Fanfare magazine describes it as “a true gem in this repertoire”. Sonatina Riang was commissioned by the ABRSM for their exam book and Autumn Lute-Song is recommended for their diploma flautists. A new work for choir and string quartet Singing Land, was co-commissioned by the Jupiter String Quartet with text by Robin Wall Kimmerer and was premiered in January 2025 with Nathan Gunn, soloist. Their second collaboration Honorable Harvest was commissioned by Emmanuel Music and receives its premiere in February 2026.  A new album featuring Darrett Adkins and pianist Roberto Plano, The Other Pictures, will be released in February (Hortus Editions). Her music is published by ECS Publishing, Theodore Presser, and the American Composers Alliance.

A dedicated teacher, Tan is Fletcher Professor of the Arts at Middlebury

College where she mentors talented young musicians. She has given seminars and masterclasses at Oberlin College, Boston University, and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, to name a few. She has received numerous accolades and citations for teaching as well as for her music, including awards from ASCAP, the Academy of Arts and Letters of Quebec, and the Toulmin and Naumburg Foundations. She was awarded several residencies from the Yaddo and MacDowell colonies and was the Slee Distinguished Visiting Chair at the University of Buffalo in 2024-2025. She holds degrees from the Trinity College, London (F.T.C.L.), Bennington College (B.A.), The Juilliard School (M.M.) and Princeton University (Ph.D.).