Alan Kwan
Alan Kwan Kwan is recognized across the world as a multi-talented guitarist and composer with innate virtuosic musicality. Having garnered numerous international awards and nominations, these accolades are testament to Kwan’s dedicated musicianship. Under Kwan’s leadership, the band Invisible Architecture, which debuted in 2021 with the album Between Now and Never, won the prestigious Golden Melody Award for Best Instrumental Album Producer and three other nominations for Best Instrumental Recording Album (Technical Category), Best Composer (Instrumental Category), and Best Instrumental Album. Kwan’s first album, Petrichor, also received three Golden Melody Awards nominations for the Best Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Album Producer, and Best Composer (Instrumental Category). For two consecutive years, Kwan has also been selected semi-finalist of the International Songwriting Competition in 2016-2018.
Kwan has successfully built a strong profile as a performer and is frequently invited to perform at diverse shows ranging from festivals, stage concerts to private shows in locations across the globe, including New York, Texas, Tokyo, Taipei and Hong Kong. A number of these performances include, Montreux Jazz Festival China, Taichung Jazz Festival (main stage), Taipei Jazz Festival (main stage), French May Arts Festival and Macau International Music Festival. He has been invited by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY) to perform at various occasions, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner.
Formal music education began for Kwan at the University of North Texas, where he received the Kris Kolflat Scholarship and Academic Scholarship from the College of Music. From here, he decided to pursue jazz music further and became Master of Music in Jazz Performance at Queens College, City University of New York in 2017, where he concurrently tapped into the New York jazz scene.
With his musical roots in jazz, Kwan advocates for it passionately by educational efforts for professionals and a general audience alike. He conducts masterclasses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and the USA and has been curator and host for various jazz education projects, including the “Black Music Legends Club: Conversations with Dr. Chi Chung Wong & Alan Kwan” at Asia Society Hong Kong Center in 2022, “Jazz Classics - Let’s Listen, Let’s Jam!” Lecture Demonstrations from 2018-2021, “Jazz Composers’ Lab” video series in 2021-2022, and RTHK podcast series “Jazz Talk” in 2022. For his contributions to youth education and social outreach in music, he has been awarded in the Secretary for Home Affairs' Commendation Scheme 2021.
Kwan’s musical taste is diverse allowing imaginative explorations in compositions. In addition to recording and performing such works, he also writes music to complement with images and has composed for several feature films and advertisements.