He studied orchestration with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Wayne Peterson at San Francisco State University where Tanner earned an advanced degree in composition. He has received numerous awards and grants from such diverse sources as ASCAP, the (Hawaii) State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of American Composers and Conductors, the National and Hawaii Bicentennial Commissions, the Huntington Hartford Foundation in Los Angeles, Meet-the-Composer, and two Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance grants administered by the American Music Center.