Bülent Arel
Encyclopedia
Bülent Arel was a Turkish-born
composer of contemporary classical music
and electronic music
.
He was born in Istanbul
, and studied composition at the Ankara
Conservatory and sound engineering
in Paris
. He later taught at the Ankara Conservatory, established the Helikon Society of Contemporary Arts, and served as the first music director of Radio Ankara from 1951 to 1959. He was also a painter and sculptor, and several of his works are in the permanent collection of the Turkish National Gallery.
In 1959, the Rockefeller Foundation
invited him to work at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
. In 1962, he worked with Edgard Varèse
on the electronic sections of Varèse's Déserts
.
He also designed and installed the electronic music laboratory at Yale University
, where he taught from 1961 to 1970, and he established the electronic music program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
, where he taught from 1971 until his retirement in 1989. Besides electronic works, Mr. Arel wrote chamber music, vocal works, and symphonic pieces, including a series of works commissioned by the Mimi Garrard Dance Theater.
In the course of his work he invented the 'splicing tape dispenser', as well as other devices for tape handling. He was a pioneer of looping techniques.
His notable students include Daria Semegen
, Conrad Cummings
, Jing Jing Luo
, Joël-François Durand
, and Frederick Bianchi
.
In later life Arel lived in East Setauket, New York
. He died of multiple myeloma
in Stony Brook, New York
.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
composer of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
He was born in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, and studied composition at the Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
Conservatory and sound engineering
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He later taught at the Ankara Conservatory, established the Helikon Society of Contemporary Arts, and served as the first music director of Radio Ankara from 1951 to 1959. He was also a painter and sculptor, and several of his works are in the permanent collection of the Turkish National Gallery.
In 1959, the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
invited him to work at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
Computer Music Center
The Computer Music Center at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. The Center was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center....
. In 1962, he worked with Edgard Varèse
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
on the electronic sections of Varèse's Déserts
Déserts
Déserts is a piece by Edgard Varèse for brass , percussion , piano, and tape. Percussion instruments are exploited for their resonant potential, rather than used solely as accompaniment...
.
He also designed and installed the electronic music laboratory at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he taught from 1961 to 1970, and he established the electronic music program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
, where he taught from 1971 until his retirement in 1989. Besides electronic works, Mr. Arel wrote chamber music, vocal works, and symphonic pieces, including a series of works commissioned by the Mimi Garrard Dance Theater.
In the course of his work he invented the 'splicing tape dispenser', as well as other devices for tape handling. He was a pioneer of looping techniques.
His notable students include Daria Semegen
Daria Semegen
Daria Semegen is an important contemporary American composer of classical music. While she has composed pieces for traditional instruments — her Jeux des quatres , for example, is scored for clarinet, trombone, cello, and piano — she is best known as a "respected electronic composer."...
, Conrad Cummings
Conrad Cummings
Conrad Cummings is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His compositions include works for orchestra, as well as operatic and chamber works. Many of his works are composed in a minimalist style reminiscent of that of Philip Glass.Cummings was born in San Francisco, California,...
, Jing Jing Luo
Jing Jing Luo
Jing Jing Luo is a female Chinese composer. Born in China, Luo received an undergraduate degree in Shanghai and postgraduate degrees from the New England Conservatory and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Luo's fellowships have come from the Asian Council on the Arts, the New York...
, Joël-François Durand
Joël-François Durand
Joël-François Durand is a French composer.-Biography:Born in Orléans, Durand studied mathematics, music education and piano in Paris, then composition with Brian Ferneyhough in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany , and at Stony Brook University, New York, with Arel and Semegen...
, and Frederick Bianchi
Frederick Bianchi
Frederick Bianchi is an American-born composer and music technologist . Central to his work is the integration of acoustic instruments with electronic/computer-generated sound...
.
In later life Arel lived in East Setauket, New York
Setauket-East Setauket, New York
Setauket-East Setauket is a census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island along the "Gold Coast." As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 15,931. It is one of the most affluent communities in the state and is among the wealthiest towns...
. He died of multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
in Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a hamlet located in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, which is on the North Shore of Long Island...
.