Elias Tanenbaum

Elias Tanenbaum (1924–2008) was an American composer, trumpeter, and music educator, father of classical guitarist David Tanenbaum, a founding director of the Electronic Computer Music Studio and faculty member at the Manhattan School Of Music in New York City (from 1970 until 2008). He also served as a visiting composer at the California Institute Of The Arts (1983) and lectured at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart in 1993. Born in Brooklyn, Tanenbaum studied trumpet from an early age and played in various jazz bands. After serving with the U.S. Army in World War II, he studied composition with Bohuslav Martinů, Otto Luening, and Wallingford Riegger, and received a B.S. degree from the Juilliard School in 1949, followed by an M.A. degree from Columbia University. As a composer, Elias Tanenbaum wrote over 100 works in a great variety of genres, from orchestral and chamber, jazz, theater and ballet to electronic and computer music. His compositions had been performed extensively in the USA, Europe and Japan by Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonia Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic and many other prominent ensembles. His multiple prizes and grants include a MacDowell Fellowship, a commission from The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1974 and 1989, and two American Composers Alliance awards.