The career of composer Paul Chihara, an American of Japanese background, has multiple strands, including concert music and scores for film and musical theater. His concert works have been commissioned by a variety of top orchestras and foundations.
Chihara was born on July 9, 1938, in Seattle. For three years during World War II, he and his family lived in an internment camp in Idaho. Chihara studied English literature at the University of Washington, going on for an M.A. in that field from Cornell University. At that point, he switched to composition, studying with Robert Pa...