Biography
Born on February 13, 1926, in Spokane, Washington, this composer of experimental music absorbed his initial musical exposure from his mother while at home. Although his early goal was a career in aeronautical engineering—an ambition reflected in the model aircraft he constructed throughout adolescence—he later shifted direction. While attending Palo Alto University he took a position in the campus library, where Henry Cowell’s New Musical Quarterly first introduced him to twentieth-century musical developments. He subsequently worked as an aircraft designer and completed U.S. Army service from 1943 to 1946. After his discharge he enrolled at the University of Nevada at Reno, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1949, the same year he completed his first work, a piano trio.
Between 1951 and 1954 he pursued postgraduate studies at Stanford University under Leonard Ratner. Summers during this period were spent at Tanglewood studying with Carlos Chavez and Aaron Copland. In the autumn of 1954 he relocated to New York for lessons with Elliott Carter. He obtained a master’s degree in English language and literature from Oxford in 1955 and completed a doctorate at Stanford in 1959.
From 1971 to 1990 he taught as professor of music and literature at the University of Redlands in California. He held positions on the executive committee and National Council of the American Society of University Composers, served with the American Composers Alliance, and advised the American Music Society in England. In addition to writing numerous scholarly articles, he collaborated with Elliott Schwartz on the 1967 volume Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music. Before his death on January 11, 2000, he produced eight string quartets, five brass quintets, two symphonies, two violin sonatas, and thirty-seven additional chamber and orchestral works.
Between 1951 and 1954 he pursued postgraduate studies at Stanford University under Leonard Ratner. Summers during this period were spent at Tanglewood studying with Carlos Chavez and Aaron Copland. In the autumn of 1954 he relocated to New York for lessons with Elliott Carter. He obtained a master’s degree in English language and literature from Oxford in 1955 and completed a doctorate at Stanford in 1959.
From 1971 to 1990 he taught as professor of music and literature at the University of Redlands in California. He held positions on the executive committee and National Council of the American Society of University Composers, served with the American Composers Alliance, and advised the American Music Society in England. In addition to writing numerous scholarly articles, he collaborated with Elliott Schwartz on the 1967 volume Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music. Before his death on January 11, 2000, he produced eight string quartets, five brass quintets, two symphonies, two violin sonatas, and thirty-seven additional chamber and orchestral works.
Albums
