ANTHONY BRAXTON (b. 1945), composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher and conductor, is an acknowledged leader in the fields of closed-and-open-form composition, systematic approaches to the languages of improvisation, and extended performance techniques. He studied philosophy, music composition, and harmony at Roosevelt University and the Chicago Musical College. In 1966, Braxton joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, an organization which was instrumental in the development of creative, improvised music in the 1960's and 1970's. Since that time, he has recorded widely and performed throughout the world, winning numerous prizes and awards for both composition and performance. From 1985 to 1990, he was a Professor of Music at Mills College in Oakland and holder of the Darius Milhaud Chair in Music from 1985 to 1987. At Mills he engaged in collaborations with his colleagues, composer-performer, David Rosenboom, and percussionist, William Winant, that resulted in the formation of Challenge, a performance collective that performed and recorded for several years. Braxton has formed numerous other groups in the past, such as the Anthony Braxton Quartet, a performing group with a long tradition, and has composed music for a wide range of instrumental ensembles, from chamber groups to multiple orchestras. In 1990, Braxton was appointed Professor of Music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut where he has also been Chairman of the Music Department. In 1994 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
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