Paul Chihara
- Known for
- Sound
- Born
- July 9, 1938 (age 88)
- Birthplace
- Seattle, Washington, USA
Biography
Paul Seiko Chihara (born July 9, 1938) is an American composer. Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. A Japanese American, he spent three years of his childhood with his family in an internment camp in Minidoka, Idaho due to Executive Order 9066. Chihara received a BA and an MA in English literature from the University of Washington and Cornell University, respectively. He received a DMA in 1965 from Cornell, studying with Robert Palmer. He also studied composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Ernst Pepping in West Berlin, and Gunther Schuller in Tanglewood. He was the first composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Neville Marriner, and was most recently part of the music faculty of UCLA, where he was the head of the Visual Media Program. As of 2015, Chihara is on the faculty of New York University as an Artist Faculty in Film Music. His close connection with music for dramatic forms extends into film and television, for which he has written nearly 100 scores. His first film score was for Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 (1975), and came at a point that he decided to leave academia to pursue a living as a composer. His exit from the university environment, and into film music also produced a change in his concert music. It was at this point that he moved away from the 12-tone and freely chromatic styles he had employed up to then, and embraced a more tonal style. He has worked with directors Sidney Lumet, Louis Malle, Michael Ritchie, and Arthur Penn. His film credits include Sweet Revenge (1976), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978), A Fire in the Sky (1978), Prince of the City (1981), The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982), The Survivors (1983), Crackers (1984), Impulse (1984), The Morning After (1986), Forever, Lulu (1987), The Killing Time (1987), Crossing Delancey (1988), and Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989). His television credits include The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, Dr. Strange, Brave New World, Noble House, Frederick Forsyth Presents (1989), and the pilot and theme music to Manimal, among others. He also composed the score for Shōgun: The Musical, based on James Clavell's novel. Shōgun had a short run on Broadway, from November 1990 to January 1991. Chihara's notable students include James Horner, Sean Friar, Joseph Trapanese, and Cynthia Tse Kimberlin. Description above from the Wikipedia page Paul Chihara, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
Jasmine
Movie · Music Producer
Sensitivity Training
Movie · Original Music Composer
Strip Search
Movie · Original Music Composer
Quicksand: No Escape
Movie · Original Music Composer
A Little Piece of Sunshine
Movie · Original Music Composer
Rock Hudson
Movie · Original Music Composer
Death Has a Bad Reputation
Movie · Original Music Composer
Family of Spies
TV · Original Music Composer · 2 eps
Bridesmaids
Movie · Original Music Composer
Penn & Teller Get Killed
Movie · Original Music Composer
Dark Holiday
Movie · Original Music Composer
Shooter
Movie · Original Music Composer
Killer Instinct
Movie · Original Music Composer
Crossing Delancey
Movie · Original Music Composer
Haunted by Her Past
Movie · Original Music Composer
The King of Love
Movie · Music
The Killing Time
Movie · Original Music Composer
A Walk on the Moon
Movie · Music
A Case of Deadly Force
Movie · Original Music Composer
Jackals
Movie · Music
We're Puttin' on the Ritz
Movie · Original Music Composer
Resting Place
Movie · Original Music Composer
When the Bough Breaks
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James
Movie · Original Music Composer
Forever, Lulu
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Morning After
Movie · Original Music Composer
A Bunny's Tale
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Bad Seed
Movie · Original Music Composer
Right to Kill?
Movie · Original Music Composer
Picking Up the Pieces
Movie · Original Music Composer
Tough Love
Movie · Music
Noon Wine
Movie · Original Music Composer
Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story
Movie · Music
With Intent to Kill
Movie · Music
Impulse
Movie · Music
Crackers
Movie · Music
The Survivors
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Haunting Passion
Movie · Original Music Composer
Jane Doe
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Rules of Marriage
Movie · Original Music Composer
Miss All-American Beauty
Movie · Original Music Composer
Sophisticated Ladies
Movie · Music Consultant
The Ambush Murders
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Rules of Marriage
TV · Original Music Composer · 2 eps
Prince of the City
Movie · Original Music Composer
Brave New World
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Children of An Lac
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Promise of Love
Movie · Music
Act of Violence
Movie · Music
The Darker Side of Terror
Movie · Original Music Composer
Mind Over Murder
Movie · Original Music Composer
A Fire in the Sky
Movie · Original Music Composer
Dr. Strange
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
Movie · Original Music Composer
Four Journeys Into Mystic Time: Mysterium
Movie · Music
Night Cries
Movie · Original Music Composer
Deathmoon
Movie · Music
Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
Movie · Music
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
TV · Original Music Composer · 2 eps
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Movie · Original Music Composer
The Keegans
Movie · Music
Sweet Revenge
Movie · Original Music Composer
Death Race 2000
Movie · Original Music Composer