Lejaren Hiller (composer)

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Lejaren Arthur Hiller (born February 23, 1924 in New York City , † January 26, 1994 in Buffalo ) was an American composer , music theorist and chemist .

Life

Hiller took an early interest in music, took composition lessons from Harvey Officer and oboe lessons from Josef Marx . He then studied chemistry at Princeton University until 1947 and, in parallel, music theory and composition with Milton Babbitt and Roger Sessions . From 1946 to 1952 he worked in DuPont's research division in Waynesboro, Virginia, where he developed the first reliable process for coloring Orlon .

From 1952 Hiller taught at the chemistry department of the University of Illinois . In addition, he continued his musical training with Hubert Kessler . He had access to computers at the Faculty of Chemistry and experimented with their use in composition. In 1957 his first computer-aided composition was his ILLIAC Suite (String Quartet No. 4). In 1958 he switched to the Faculty of Music and founded a studio for experimental music there.

From 1968 Hiller was Professor of Composition at the University of Buffalo . He had two Fulbright teaching posts: 1973–1974 at the Warsaw Music Academy and 1980 in Salvador da Bahia . In addition to his composition, Hiller also published several works on information theory and its relationship to music and computer music. Hiller was married to actress Elizabeth Halsey since 1945 .

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personal data
SURNAME Hiller, Lejaren
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hiller, Lejaren Arthur; Hiller, Lejaren A .; Hiller, Lejaren jun.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer, music theorist, and chemist
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1994
Place of death Buffalo