Joji Yuasa

Joji Yuasa (湯浅譲二, Yuasa Jōji, born August 12, 1929) is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music.

Biography

Born in Kōriyama, Fukushima, he is self-taught as a composer.

In 1951 or 1952, together with the composer Tōru Takemitsu and other artists and musicians, he founded Jikken Kobo (Experimental Workshop), an organization for the exploration of new directions in the arts, including multimedia.

Since then, Yuasa has written a wide range of compositions, including orchestral, choral and chamber music, music for theatre, and intermedia, electronic and computer music. His works have been commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Saarland Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Canada Council, Suntory Music Foundation, IRCAM and National Endowment for the Arts of the U.S.A. He has received a number of fellowships and awards, from: Japan Society Fellowship (1968–69), Composer in Residence at the Center for Music Experiment UCSD (1976), Berlin Artist Program by DAAD (1976–77), the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney (1980), the University of Toronto (1981) and IRCAM (1987),