Jianan (Canaan) Wang is AI music software developer, who has gained a solid academic and professional background allowing him to develop unique approaches to music production.
Multiple awards have marked his experience and has had an impact on the film and video game industries. As a talented person with social consciousness, he has contributed to increasing awareness about social problems through the projects he takes on.
Music has been a present factor in Jianan’s life since he was four. He first practiced the erhu and soon moved to dance when he earned the Lead Dancer role over the Jinfan Dance Troupe under Beijing’s Meng, the Taiji leader of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. From 2010 to 2014, Jianan had the honorable opportunity to perform for Jiang Zemin, the former president of China, at the National Center for the Performing Arts. He also directed his troupe in global dance competitions, working with international groups from Singapore, the University of Edinburgh, and South Korea.
A decade ago, Jianan experienced a transformation in his life. He transitioned from dancing to a musical standpoint and delved into jazz, symphonies, blues, and other genres. He learned how to channel his observational skills into empathizing with people and understanding culturally diverse mindsets. At the age of 15, he founded an indie band that performs to this day.
Jianan graduated from Indiana University Bloomington, majoring with a Bachelor of Arts in Narrative Filmmaking and minoring in Theater. He also enrolled at Columbia College Chicago, Hollywood Reporter’s top-ranked school, to receive his Master of Music Theory and Composition. Before he transferred to Hollywood to exercise his newfound skills, he had continued mastering the elements of narrative filmmaking, understanding the synergy between film and music.
At the forefront of Jianan’s most essential achievements was the music production for the designer Gao’s “Unquestioning Acquiescence.” This project aimed to share Gao’s vision of exhibiting social issues, like sexual violence, sexual assault, women’s safety, and men’s awareness, in a meaningful and impactful way to garner an audience’s notice.
Another one of Jianan’s critical accomplishments was documenting his thesis piece at the 20th Century Fox Newman Stage. He shortly met with professional producers and musicians and learned new concepts to expand his musical knowledge: post-production mixing and live symphonic recording.
Jianan’s contribution to Laura Waters-Hinson’s “3D Printing the Future” marked another notable achievement. Working with Grammy winner music producer Matt GK Wong, he wrote an attention-grabbing piece that earned exceptional recognition from diverse audiences. The composition won six festival awards, encompassing the 2021 Special Jury Awareness Festival’s Activist Award and the 2023 Annapolis Film Festival’s Official Selection Award.
Looking ahead, Jianan plans to revolutionize the music industry after he took a role of AI software developer at Insomniac in 2023. Integration of AI will push a music composition forward, giving innovative opportunities for the music industry.
