was a Japanese composer and performer. He is best known for his scores for the avant-garde films by Maya Deren.

Early life

Ito was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

to a theatrical family. His mother, Teiko Ono, was a dancer and his father, Yuji Ito, was a designer and composer. His family moved to the United States when he was six. Ito accompanied his mother's dance performance at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

in New York City; he performed for both Japanese and Korean dance. At 15, he ran away from home. He began to compose at age 17. He met Maya Deren during this time and in 1955, traveled with her to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

. There, Ito studied under a master drummer. Ito would also compose the score for Deren's '' Meshes of the Afternoon'' at Deren's request. Ito married Deren in 1960 and remained married to her until her death in 1961. The

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

actor

Jerry Ito Jerry Ito (July 12, 1927 in New York City, New York – July 8, 2007 in Los Angeles, California) was a Japanese-American film and television actor, born as Gerald Tamekichi Itō, specializing in Japanese films throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s ...

(1927–2007) was Teiji Ito's first cousin.

Career

Ito won an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

for his scores during the 1960-1961 off-Broadway season; the productions included

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's '' In the Jungle of Cities'', ''

King Ubu King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

'', and ''Three Modern Japanese Plays''. In 1963, he composed the score for the Broadway production of ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

''. Ito wrote ''

Watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

'' which was first performed by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

in 1971. Ito also performed and composed for

Jean Erdman Jean Erdman (February 20, 1916 – May 4, 2020) was an American dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director. Biography Early years and background Erdman was born in Honolulu. Erdman's father, John Piney ...

's Theater of the Open Eye. Ito and his fourth wife, Cherel, edited Deren's 1947-1951 footage she shot while in Haiti; this would result in the documentary '' Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti''.

Death

While in Haiti, Ito died of a heart attack in 1982.

Discography

*''Meshes: Music For Films and Theater'' (O.O. Discs) *''Music For Maya: Early Film Music Of Teiji Ito'' (

Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...

, 2-CD set) *''King Ubu'' (Tzadik) *''The Shamanic Principles'' (Tzadik) *''Tenno'' (Tzadik) *''Watermill'' (Tzadik)

References

External links

* *
Teiji Ito
Tzadik discs
The Teiji Ito papers
in th
Music Division
o
The New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsCollection of noncommercial recordings
from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Teiji 1935 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians American classical composers American classical musicians American contemporary classical composers American film score composers American male classical composers American male drummers American male film score composers American multi-instrumentalists American musical theatre composers Avant-garde musicians Ballet composers Contemporary classical music performers Experimental composers Haitian classical musicians Haitian drummers Japanese classical composers Japanese classical musicians Japanese contemporary classical composers Japanese drummers Japanese expatriates in Haiti Japanese expatriates in the United States Japanese film score composers Japanese male classical composers Japanese multi-instrumentalists Japanese musical theatre composers Male musical theatre composers Musicians from New York City Musicians from Tokyo Obie Award recipients Tzadik Records artists