Chinary Ung ( ) (born November 24, 1942, in Takéo,

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

) is a composer currently living in California, United States.

Career

After arriving in the US in 1965 to study

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, he turned to composition studies with

Chou Wen-chung Chou Wen-chung (; July 28, 1923 – October 25, 2019) was a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States and received his music training at the New England Conservatory and Columbia Univ ...

and Mario Davidovsky, receiving a

Doctor of Musical Arts The doctor of musical arts (DMA) is a doctorate, doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually Performance, music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-le ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1974. In 1988, he became the first American to win the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

Grawemeyer Award for musical composition. Additionally, he received the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, as well as awards from

The American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

, Asia Foundation, Asian Cultural Council,

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, Guggenheim Foundation,

Joyce Foundation The Joyce Foundation is a non-operating private foundation based in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2025, it had assets of approximately $1.24 billion. Former U.S. President Barack Obama served on the foundation's board of directors from 1994 through ...

, and

The National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. In October 2007 the Del Sol String Quartet was invited to premiere the composer's ''Spiral X'' playing the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

' collection of

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

instruments. Ung taught music at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. Originally chartered as Thames College, it was founded in 1911 as the state's only women's colle ...

, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, before being appointed to the faculty at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. In 2013, UC San Diego promoted Ung to the rank of Distinguished Professor. Ung's music is published by C. F. Peters Corporation and his music is recorded on New World Records, Bridge Records, Cambria, London Records, Other Minds, Oodiscs, Nami Records, Kojima Records, Albany Records, Norton Recordings, Composers Recording Incorporated, Folkways Records, and Koch International.

Awards

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition (1989) for ''Inner Voices'' * Friedheim Award (1989) for ''Spiral'' *

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

(1981, 1988) * John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award from the Asian Cultural Council (2014) *

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

(2020) * Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Nomination (2025) for '' Rebirth of Apsara''

Selected list of works

*1970 – ''Tall Wind'', for soprano and chamber ensemble *1974 – ''Mohori'', for soprano and chamber ensemble *1980 – ''Khse Buon'', for solo cello or viola *1985 – ''Child Song'', for alto flute, viola, harp *1986 – ''Inner Voices'', for orchestra *1987 – ''Spiral'', for cello, piano, and percussion *1989 – ''Spiral II'', for soprano, tuba, and piano *1990 – ''Grand Spiral: Desert Flowers Bloom'', for symphonic band *1992 – ''Spiral VI'', for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano *1995 – ''Antiphonal Spirals'', for orchestra *1997 – ''Seven Mirrors'', for solo piano

References

External links

Profile at ColumbiaProfile at UCSD
1942 births Living people 21st-century classical composers Cambodian composers Cambodian expatriates in the United States University of California, San Diego faculty People from Takéo province Male classical composers 21st-century male musicians {{Cambodia-musician-stub