Meet Starling

Starling Tan is an Australian composer, arranger & remote session musician based in Vancouver, British Columbia. With a style described as warm, expressive and emotive, she has composed for indie games including Pinball Spire, Loch Mess and Wrong Number and is currently working on upcoming games Delphinium and Signy & Mino: Against All Gods.  Her compositional process involves drawing together different threads to tell a story through instrumentation, melodic motif and tone colour. 

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As a recording artist, Starling combines technical skill with a passion for exploring the expressive and timbral potential of acoustic instruments. Supported by a Masters degree in oboe performance from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, she records on a range of woodwinds, including the cor anglais, Irish tin whistle, recorder, ocarina and more, for video game soundtracks and albums. A classically trained multi-instrumentalist, she also uses cello, piano and vocals to enhance her own compositions.

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In the live performance and interactive media spaces, Starling has created music for Ukiyo Escape Room's "Sonata of Shadows", opening in 2025. Starling also worked with Sinister Creative to create concerts such as the sold-out SOUND BYTE 2022: a celebration of Australian video game music, presented in collaboration with Freeplay Independent Games Festival. In 2021, Starling released a multi-instrument cover album of video game music, Roseborne, featuring arrangements from Ori & the Blind Forest, Hades, Xenogears, Plants vs Zombies and more. She enjoys collaborating with other video game music cover artists such as TPR and Tze Liew. 

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When not working on music, Starling enjoys baking cakes, making tiny games, learning erhu and playing any game that makes her think (especially if it also makes her cry).