Chandler Hall "Chan" Poling (born October 3, 1957) is an American musician and composer.

Early life and education

Chandler Hall Poling was born in 1957 in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. He moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

with his family in 1961. He studied composition at

MacPhail Center for Music The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mills District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the school has over 16,000 students, providing instruction at ...

in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and, after graduating from The Blake School, went on to study composition and performance at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

from 1975 to 1977 under the tutelage of his mentor the composer

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the l ...

Career

Music

Chan Poling has written and performed music in a variety of musical genres, including dance, theater, film, and rock. He founded, and continues to perform in the band

The Suburbs ''The Suburbs'' is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on August 2, 2010. Coinciding with its announcement, the band released a limited edition 12-inch single containing the title track and "Month of May".

. He has been influenced by jazz, music for the theater, punk and new wave pop music, film music,

, musician, director and composer

Meredith Monk Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording ...

, and composers such as

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

and

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. After returning to Minneapolis after attending CalArts, Poling consulted with his friend Chris Osgood of

The Suicide Commandos The Suicide Commandos are an American punk rock trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They formed in 1975 and released two 7" EPs on an indie label in 1976 and 1977 before signing with Blank Records (a subsidiary label of Mercury R ...

and started the band The Suburbs with his friend Beej Chaney and new acquaintances Bruce Allen, Michael Halliday and Hugo Klaers. The Suburbs got their first recording contract with

Twin/Tone Records Twin/Tone Records was an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which operated from 1977 until 1994. It was the original home of influential Minnesota bands the Replacements and Soul Asylum and was instrumental in helping the T ...

and went on to record music for

PolyGram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

Restless Records Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...

. The Suburbs were voted among the "100 Most Influential Minnesota Musical Entities of the Twentieth Century" by

The Minneapolis Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

. In the 1990s Poling made two solo albums: one a record of his score for

Theatre de la Jeune Lune The Theatre de la Jeune Lune was a celebrated theater company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company, in operation from 1978 to 2008, was known for its visually rich, highly physical style of theatre, derived from clown, mime, dance and ope ...

's Children Of Paradise, and the other a record of off-kilter pop songs; "Calling All Stars" for

Manifesto Records Manifesto Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by Dead Kennedys, Tim Buckley, Cinerama, Concrete Blonde, Cranes, The Czars, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lilys, The Rugburns, Sing-Sing, Ken S ...

. In 2005 he formed

The New Standards The New Standards is a minimalist jazz trio formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2005 and composed of Chan Poling (of The Suburbs), John Munson (of The Twilight Hours, Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare and The Flops) and Steve Roehm (of Electropolis, ...

The New Standards; The Unusual, With a Twist
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 30, 2006. with

John Munson John Munson (born December 13, 1966) is an American musician who is best known as the bass player for Semisonic. He was also a member of Trip Shakespeare during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Trip Shakespeare Matt Wilson, lead vocalist of Tr ...

Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ba ...

and

Trip Shakespeare Trip Shakespeare was an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The band included Dan Wilson and John Munson, who would later go on to be founding members of Semisonic. Origins The band originated when ...

and released a CD, "The New Standards," which is composed of interpretations of a diverse collection of songwriters with Poling on grand piano, Munson on stand-up bass, and Steve Roehm on vibraphone. Mr. Poling's contributions to

Musical Theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

include several scores and songs for the Tony Award winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune He has also contributed songs to the musical "Heaven", created with Joe Chvala and continues to develop new works with Mr. Hatcher. In the spring of 2013 Poling initiated a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to fund a new Suburbs album. The campaign was fervently supported by The Suburbs fan base. On November 19, 2013, the band’s first album in 27 years, Si Sauvage, was released. It featured founding members Poling, Klaers, and Chaney, plus new bandmates Steve Brantseg and Steve Price, and guest vocalists like Janey Winterbauer and Aby Wolf.

Composition

Poling's music credits include works for television, film and theater. His theater pieces include award-winning work for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning French/American troupe Theatre de la Jeune Lune.

Kevin McCollum Kevin McCollum (born March 1, 1962) is an American theatrical booking executive and producer of musical theater and plays, many on Broadway. During a producing career spanning over twenty-five years, McCollum has received three Tony Awards for ...

commissioned Poling to write music for a new work "Heaven" developed under the aegis of The Ordway Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. as well as "A Night In Olympus" book by

Jeffrey Hatcher Jeffrey Hatcher is an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'', which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just ''Stage Beauty'' (2004). He also co-wrote the stage adaptation o ...

and

Bill Corbett William Daniel Corbett (born March 30, 1960) is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''), for which he voiced the r ...

, and "Lord Gordon Gordon" both also written with Hatcher. In 2015, the musical Glensheen (about the 1977 murders of

Elisabeth Congdon Elisabeth Mannering Congdon (April 22, 1894 – June 27, 1977) was a wealthy resident of Duluth, Minnesota, USA who became famous after she and her nurse were found murdered on June 27, 1977. Biography Elisabeth Congdon was born to mining magna ...

and her nurse at the eponymous mansion in Duluth, Minnesota), opened at the History Theatre in St Paul. "Glensheen" was winner of an Ivey Award for Overall Excellence and continues to play to sold-out houses. There are hopes for a tour or a transfer to Off Broadway. His score for the

Twin Cities Public Television Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (abbreviated TPT, doing business as Twin Cities PBS) is a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, that operates the Twin Cities' two PBS member television stations, KTCA-TV (channe ...

documentary

Iron Range The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...

: A People's History (1994) won an Emmy Award, the TPT-produced documentary on his musical "Glensheen" also garnered a regional Emmy. In 2008, he also composed the score to '' Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story'', a documentary film about the life of his father-in-law

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

Writing

Poling has a book from the

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

called ''Jack & the Ghost'' illustrated by Lucy Michell.

Personal life

Poling had three children with ex-wife Terri Paul. In 2005, he married

Eleanor Mondale Eleanor Jane Mondale Poling (January 19, 1960 – September 17, 2011) was an American radio personality, television host, and actress. Biography Mondale was the only daughter of Joan Mondale and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Her o ...

, daughter of former United States Vice President

. Until her death on September 17, 2011, they lived in Minnesota on a small farm where they raised miniature horses. He resides now in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his partner Patty Radford-Henderson.

External links

*
Chan Poling's Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poling, Chan American male composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Evanston, Illinois 1957 births Living people 21st-century American male musicians