Michiko Francoise Toyama Muto (February 14, 1908 – October 23, 2000) was a Japanese American composer. She was one of the first women invited to study at the Columbia–Princeton Electronic Music Center (today known as the

Computer Music Center The Computer Music Center (CMC) at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Location The CMC is hou ...

). Toyama was born in California to Japanese parents Noryuki Toyama and Fuku Nakahara. Her family visited Japan several times, and she attended college in the United States and Japan. In 1936, she studied with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Paris. In 1937,

Jacques Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his firs ...

recommended that Toyama submit her composition ''Voice of Yamato'' to the 15th Festival of the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following th ...

(ISCM), where it won a prize. The same year, she married Hideo Muto; they had one child, Lucile. Toyama was interned at the

Rohwer War Relocation Center The Rohwer War Relocation Center was a World War II Japanese American concentration camp located in rural southeastern Arkansas, in Desha County. It was in operation from September 18, 1942, until November 30, 1945, and held as many as 8,475 Ja ...

in the United States during World War II following the signing of Executive Order 9066. She was described there as a musician and semiskilled in the manufacture of knit goods. In 1952, Toyama studied with

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

, Olivier Messiaen, and Noel Gallon at the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. In 1955, she received a scholarship to study at

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 ...

with

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

. She studied conducting at the

Pierre Monteux School The Monteux School and Music Festival for conductors and orchestra musicians, founded by conductor Pierre Monteux, is a 6-week summer orchestra program located in Hancock, Maine, United States. History Pierre Monteux's (1875-1964) first forays i ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. From 1956 to 1959 she was one of the first women to study at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center with Dr.

Otto Luening Otto Clarence Luening (June 15, 1900 – September 2, 1996) was a German-American composer and conductor, and an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music. Luening was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to German parents, Eugene, a conduct ...

and Dr.

Vladimir Ussachevsky Vladimir Alexeevich Ussachevsky (November 3, 1911 in Hailar, China – January 2, 1990 in New York, New York) was a composer, particularly known for his work in electronic music. Biography Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in the Hailar District ...

. At the Center, Toyama and

Edgard Varese Edgard may refer to the following: * Edgard, Louisiana *Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs *Edgard Varèse See also *Eadgar (disambiguation) *Edgar (disambiguation) *Edgardo Edgardo is an Italian-language form of the name Edgar. It may refer to: * Edg ...

shared an enthusiasm for Japanese gagaku court music. In 1960, Toyama's compositions were released on ''Folkways Records Album No. FW 8881''. Toyama said, "composing music is my joy and I do it for myself. I hope my compositions will be performed, but I do not dare to organize performance opportunities for my compositions by myself."

Works

Toyama published her music under the name Michiko Toyama. Her compositions include:

Electronic

*''Aoi No Ue'' (tape and narrator) *''Waka'' (tape and narrator; text by Hyaku-nin Shu)

Orchestra

*Japanese Suite

Vocal

*''Voice of Yamato'' (soprano, flute, clarinet, bassoon and cello) *"Two Old Folk Songs" (voice and koto)
Listen to ''Waka'' by Michiko Toyama

References

American women composers 1908 births 2000 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni Tanglewood Music Center alumni Columbia University alumni American electronic musicians Japanese-American internees American musicians of Japanese descent 20th-century American women {{US-composer-stub