Chihara, Paul

Chihara was born on July 9, 1938 in Seattle, WA; began studying the violin at age eight; studied composition with Robert Palmer at Cornell Univ. (where he also received his MM in English literature); studied with Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and Ernst Pepping in Berlin; was an associate professor of music at UCLA, where he founded and directed the Twice ensemble and conducted the Collegium musicum; his compositions, often reflecting his interest in Oriental music, include: Logs, concertos for cello and double bass, chamber works, choral works, and Forest music for orchestra.

Biography

American composer, Paul Chihara (b. Seattle, WA, July 9, 1938) studied composition with Robert Palmer at Cornell University (where he received an MA and DMA in English Literature), Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Ernst Pepping in Berlin, and Gunther Schuller at the Berkshire Music Center.

Chihara served as an associate professor of music at UCLA from 1966 through 1976. While at UCLA, he founded and directed the Twice Ensemble, conducted the collegium musicum and was composer in residence for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (1971-1974).

He served as the Andrew Mellon Professor at California Institute of Technology in 1975, and taught at the California Institute of the Arts in 1976. Chihara became the composer in residence for the San Francisco Ballet in 1980. He re-joined the UCLA faculty in 1996, and served as Visiting Professor in 1999.

Chihara has received commissions from many world-renowned performing institutions, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra,the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

His compositional style reflects his interest in asian music, and utilizes shifts in timbral coloring and limited pitch movement.