Christopher Adler (born 1972) is a musician, composer and music professor at

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Sc ...

. A virtuoso player of the

khaen The ''khene'' (; spelled "Can" in English; Lao: ແຄນ; th, แคน, , ; km, គែន - ''Ken''; Vietnamese: ''khèn'') is a Lao mouth organ whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out ha ...

, a reed instrument native to Laos and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, he has been composing works for the khaen both as a solo instrument and in combination with western instruments since 1996. His works for solo piano include the three-part ''Bear Woman Dances'', commissioned to accompany a dance depicting a Korean creation myth and largely based the Korean musical system nongak. Four of his compositions have been broadcast internationally on WGBH's ''Art of the States'' series.MacBlane, Amanda (24 March 2003)
"Siberia to Cyberia: “Art of the States” Comes to the Web"
'' New Music Box''. Retrieved 9 June 2016. His composition for

sheng Sheng may refer to: * Sheng (instrument) (笙), a Chinese wind instrument * Sheng (surname) (盛), a Chinese surname * Sheng (Chinese opera), a major role in Chinese opera * Sheng (升), ancient Chinese unit of volume, approximately 1 liter * S ...

, viola and percussion, ''Music for a Royal Palace'', was commissioned by Carnegie Hall for

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

's '' Silk Road Project''. An homage to Thailand's

Bang Pa-In Palace Bang Pa-In Royal Palace ( th, พระราชวังบางปะอิน), also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Si ...

, the work incorporates traditional Thai melody and embellishments. It was performed at Zankel Hall in 2006 and recorded at the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglewo ...

that same year. His ''Serpent of Five Tongues'' for

and guanzi (traditional Chinese instruments) premiered at the 2011

MATA Festival The MATA Festival is a New York-based annual contemporary classical music festival devoted to championing the works of young composers. It was founded in 1996 by Philip Glass, Lisa Bielawa and Eleonor Sandresky and is currently under the leaders ...

Biography

Adler was born in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is th ...

and grew up in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

. He developed a connection with music at a young age, playing the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''rank ...

at the church where his mother worked in Falls Church, (which he would continue to do until his move to San Diego).Scher, Valerie. (5 March 2006)
"Composer’s at Home on an Exotic Instrument"
. ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''. Retrieved 9 June 2016. He attended

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

as an undergraduate hoping to major in Mathematics and Physics, but instead earned bachelor's degrees in Mathematics and Composition. One of his mentors there was Professor

Evan Ziporyn Evan Ziporyn (b. Chicago, Illinois, December 14, 1959) is an American composer of post-minimalist music with a cross-cultural orientation, drawing equally from classical music, avant-garde, various world music traditions, and jazz. Zipory ...

, who would later be the one to encourage him to play a non-Western instrument. He was first introduced to traditional Thai music, as well as the Khaen specifically, while attending MIT in 1994, during a Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington D.C. He went on to receive his PhD in Composition from Duke University. Adler has lived in San Diego since 1999 where he is a professor in the Asian Studies and Music departments at the University of San Diego.

Faculty biography: Christopher Adler, PhD.
Retrieved 9 June 2016. He also engages in several organizations and festivals that center around contemporary and experimental

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

. His wife, Supeena Insee Adler, is also a musician who specializes in traditional Thai music.Nichols, Catherine. (March–April 2007)
"Composer's Work Premieres at Carnegie Hall"
. ''

MIT Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...

'' (republished on MIT Alumni News. Retrieved 9 June 2009.

Musical career

Adler's works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Center,

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

Merkin Hall Merkin Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Music Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Sp ...

, Shanghai Symphony Hall, the

Bang on a Can Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted contemporary classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. Called "the c ...

Marathon, Music at the Anthology, and the

Cultural Center of Chicago The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed presi ...

, the

Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center, also referred to as SAC, is an arts complex in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, in South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Han ...

, Sumida Triphony Hall in

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

and at new music festivals and universities across the US. by ensembles including the Silk Road Ensemble, red fish blue fish, Ensemble ACJW, the

Da Capo Chamber Players The Da Capo Chamber Players are an American contemporary music "Pierrot ensemble," founded in 1970. Winners of the Naumburg Award in 1973, its founding members included composer/pianist Joan Tower, violinist Joel Lester (former dean of Mannes Colle ...

. His works have been broadcast and webcast internationally on WGBH's ''Art of the States'', WQXR's ''Cued Up'' and

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The st ...

. Recordings of Adler's music include: *''Epilogue for a dark day'' (2004).

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 ...

*''Ecstatic volutions in a neon haze'' (2007)

Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minneso ...

*''A forest of verses: solo and chamber music'' (2009) Vienna Modern Masters Adler's retrospective analysis of his first ten years of cross-cultural composition was published in

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz ...

's ''Arcana II: Musicians on Music'' (Hips Road, 2007).

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

bibliographic record
Table of Contents for ''Arcana II: Musicians on Music'', edited by John Zorn
Retrieved 9 June 2009

References

External links

* *

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minne ...

Christopher Adler
*Adler, Christopher (January 2013)
"World Music Instrument: The Lao Khaen "
Center for World Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Christopher 1972 births Living people Musicians from Washington, D.C. People from Falls Church, Virginia University of San Diego faculty Thai music Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Duke University alumni