An American composer born August 22, 1934 in Salem (United States).
A violinist and percussionist by training, John Chowning obtained a Bachelor of Music at the University of Springfield. He completed his apprenticeship in composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1959-1962) and attended the concerts of the Domaine Musical, enjoying the contemporary repertory and electronic music in particular. Back in the USA he continued his studies at the University of Stanford and became a Doctor of Musical Arts (1966).
Inspired as early as 1964 by Max Mathews’ work on the digital synthesiser, in 1966 he devised a programme of computer music with David Poole at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His first productions focussed on the localisation and movement of sound in space and in 1967 he invented a method of sound synthesis by frequency modulation. His patent, bought by the company Yamaha in 1975, led to the conception of the DX7 synthesiser and enabled him to found the CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) that he directed until he retired in 1996.
During the summers of 1973 and 1974 Chowning took part in preparatory meetings for Ircam, an institution with which he was to remain linked, both as guest composer (1978-1979 and 1985) and the recipient of commissions (1977 and 1981).
His compositions, few in number yet significant, reflect his investigations into the simulation of the movement of sound sources in a quadriphonic system, the use of techniques of synthesis by frequency modulation, and the structures entailed by computer programming languages: Sabelithe (1971) and Turenas (1972), exploiting spatialisation and percussive sounds; Stria, the data of which is entirely generated by programme algorithms (1977); Phonē, a work based on the synthesis of the singing voice by frequency modulation (1981); Voices for soprano and electronics, a work integrating real-time treatment of the voice (2004-2011).
John Chowning has also taught sound synthesis and computer-assisted composition at the University of Stanford.