Paul Chihara
b. 1938
American
Summary
his doctorate degree (D.M.A.) from Cornell University in 1965 as a
student of Robert Palmer. Mr. Chihara also studied with the renowned
pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Ernst Pepping in Berlin, and with
Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony. With
Toru Takemitsu, Chihara was composer-in-residence at the Marlboro Music
Festival in Vermont in 1971. Chihara is currently on the faculty at
U.C.L.A. and was also the first composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles
Chamber Orchestra, Neville Marriner, Conductor.
His numerous
commissions and awards include those from The Lili Boulanger Memorial
Award, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship, the Aaron
Copland Fund, and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as from the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Cleveland
Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and the
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Active in the ballet world, Mr. Chihara was
composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Ballet from 1973-1986.
Professor Chihara's works have been widely recorded. His compositions
appear on many labels including BMG Records, Reference Recordings, CRI,
Music and Art, Vox Candide, New World Records, The Louisville Orchestra
First Editions Records, Bridge Records, and Albany Records.
Biography
Paul Seiko Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. He received
his doctorate degree (D.M.A.) from Cornell University in 1965 as a
student of Robert Palmer. Mr. Chihara also studied with the renowned
pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Ernst Pepping in Berlin, and with
Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony. With
Toru Takemitsu, Chihara was composer-in-residence at the Marlboro Music
Festival in Vermont in 1971. Chihara is currently on the faculty at
U.C.L.A. and was also the first composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles
Chamber Orchestra, Neville Marriner, Conductor. More recently, he
served as composer-in-residence with the Mancini Institute. He has been
named Composer Of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation in New
York for 2008. His Viola Concerto ("When Soft Voices Die"),
commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, will be premiered in April
2009, at Severance Hall.
Professor Chihara's prize-winning concert works have been performed in
most major cities and arts centers in the U.S. and Europe.
His numerous
commissions and awards include those from The Lili Boulanger Memorial
Award, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship, the Aaron
Copland Fund, and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as from the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Cleveland
Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and the
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Active in the ballet world, Mr. Chihara was
composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Ballet from 1973-1986. While
there, he wrote many trailblazing works, including Shin-ju (based on the
"lovers' suicide" plays by the great Japanese dramatist Chikamatsu), as
well as the first full-length American ballet, The Tempest.
In addition to his many concert works, Professor Chihara has composed
scores for over 100 motion pictures and television series. He has worked
with such luminaries as directors Sidney Lumet, Louis Malle, Michael
Ritchie, John Turturro, and Arthur Penn. His movie credits include
"Prince of the City," "The Morning After," "Crossing Delancey," and
"Romance and Cigarettes." His works for television include "China
Beach," "Noble House," "Brave New World," "An American Family," and "100
Centre Street." Mr. Chihara also served as music supervisor at Buena
Vista Pictures (Walt Disney Co.). Also active in the New York musical
theatre world, Mr. Chihara served as musical consultant and arranger for
Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, and was the composer for James Clavell's Shogun, the Musical.
Professor Chihara's works have been widely recorded. His compositions
appear on many labels including BMG Records, Reference Recordings, CRI,
Music and Art, Vox Candide, New World Records, The Louisville Orchestra
First Editions Records, Bridge Records, and Albany Records.
his doctorate degree (D.M.A.) from Cornell University in 1965 as a
student of Robert Palmer. Mr. Chihara also studied with the renowned
pedagogue Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Ernst Pepping in Berlin, and with
Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony. With
Toru Takemitsu, Chihara was composer-in-residence at the Marlboro Music
Festival in Vermont in 1971. Chihara is currently on the faculty at
U.C.L.A. and was also the first composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles
Chamber Orchestra, Neville Marriner, Conductor. More recently, he
served as composer-in-residence with the Mancini Institute. He has been
named Composer Of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation in New
York for 2008. His Viola Concerto ("When Soft Voices Die"),
commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, will be premiered in April
2009, at Severance Hall.
Professor Chihara's prize-winning concert works have been performed in
most major cities and arts centers in the U.S. and Europe.
His numerous
commissions and awards include those from The Lili Boulanger Memorial
Award, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship, the Aaron
Copland Fund, and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as from the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Cleveland
Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the New Juilliard Ensemble, and the
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Active in the ballet world, Mr. Chihara was
composer-in-residence at the San Francisco Ballet from 1973-1986. While
there, he wrote many trailblazing works, including Shin-ju (based on the
"lovers' suicide" plays by the great Japanese dramatist Chikamatsu), as
well as the first full-length American ballet, The Tempest.
In addition to his many concert works, Professor Chihara has composed
scores for over 100 motion pictures and television series. He has worked
with such luminaries as directors Sidney Lumet, Louis Malle, Michael
Ritchie, John Turturro, and Arthur Penn. His movie credits include
"Prince of the City," "The Morning After," "Crossing Delancey," and
"Romance and Cigarettes." His works for television include "China
Beach," "Noble House," "Brave New World," "An American Family," and "100
Centre Street." Mr. Chihara also served as music supervisor at Buena
Vista Pictures (Walt Disney Co.). Also active in the New York musical
theatre world, Mr. Chihara served as musical consultant and arranger for
Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, and was the composer for James Clavell's Shogun, the Musical.
Professor Chihara's works have been widely recorded. His compositions
appear on many labels including BMG Records, Reference Recordings, CRI,
Music and Art, Vox Candide, New World Records, The Louisville Orchestra
First Editions Records, Bridge Records, and Albany Records.
"It
is almost easier to think of Paul Chihara as several different
composers. There is the Chihara whose sensitivity to exquisite
instrumental color has made him a favorite with such performers as
conductor Seiji Ozawa and the Sequoia String Quartet. There is, however,
a strong theatrical side to Chihara which expresses itself in works for
dance, musical theater and film. And there is Chihara's love for
American popular music of the '30s and '40s."
— Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times
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