Lejaren Hiller

Lejaren Arthur Hiller (February 23, 1924 in New York City – January 26, 1994 in Buffalo, New York) was an American composer. In 1957 he collaborated with Leonard Issacson on his String Quartet No. 4, Illiac Suite, the first significant use of a computer to compose music. In 1958 Hiller founded the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His notable pupils included composers James Fulkerson, Larry Lake, Ilza Nogueira, David Rosenboom, Bernadette Speach and James Tenney. See: List of music students by teacher: G to J#Lejaren Hiller.

He was originally trained as a chemist, and worked as a research chemist for DuPont in Waynesboro, Virginia from 1947 to 1952. He developed the first reliable process for dyeing Orlon and coauthored a popular textbook.

He played piano, oboe, clarinet, and saxophone as a child. He also studied composition with Roger Sessions and Milton Babbitt while earning his chemistry degree at Princeton University. His father, Lejaren Hiller, Sr., was a well-known art photographer who specialized in historical tableaux.

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