Peter Askim is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 of modern classical music, conductor, music educator and a double bassist.

Background

Born in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, to a Norwegian father and an American mother, he grew up in Cumberland, Maine

Cumberland, Maine

Cumberland is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,211 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from 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...

. He also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts

Doctor of Musical Arts

The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...

 degree in Composition

Musical composition

Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

 from the University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

.

He studied composition with Dan Welcher

Dan Welcher

Dan Welcher is an American composer, conductor, and music educator.- Biography :Welcher was born in Rochester, New York and earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, studying bassoon, piano, and composition...

, Donald Grantham

Donald Grantham

Donald Grantham is an American composer and music educator.Grantham was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma, he went on to receive his MM and DMA from the University of Southern California. For two summers he studied under famed French...

, Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis (composer)

Anthony Davis, better known as Tony Davis , is an American composer, jazz pianist, and student of gamelan music.-Biography:...

,
Jan Radzynkski, Syd Hodkinson and David Finko. His double bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

 instructors
were George Rubino, Diana Gannett

Diana Gannett

Diana Gannett is a renowned American classical double bassist and educator, currently Professor of Double Bass at the University of Michigan School of Music....

, Donald Palma

Donald Palma

Donald Palma is a prominent classical double bassist, conductor, bass instructor, and educator of ensemble performance. He is a native of New York City, and is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Mr...

, Wolfgang Harrer and
Ludwig Streicher

Ludwig Streicher

Ludwig Streicher was a contrabassist from Vienna, Austria. Familiar to many as the former principal bass of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and leading bass soloist, he is also known as a self-taught instructor and as the author of a popular contrabass textbook.-Career:Entering the Vienna Music...

.

Musical career

Active as a composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, conductor and double bassist, Peter Askim is currently the Music Director

Music director

A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 and Composer-in-Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy

Idyllwild Arts Foundation

Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program...

. He has been a member of the Honolulu Symphony

Honolulu Symphony

The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...

 Orchestra, and served on the faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Hawaii at Manoa

The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...

, where he directed the Contemporary Music Ensemble and taught bass, theory and composition.
Numerous orchestras, music festivals and performers have commissioned
work from Askim, including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

The , or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra . It assumed its present name in 1951.Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as the pit ensemble for some productions at New National Theatre, Tokyo, the city's leading opera house...

, the Honolulu Symphony

Honolulu Symphony

The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...

, Orchestra Asia-Japan, The Yale Symphony Orchestra

Yale Symphony Orchestra

The Yale Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra at Yale University which performs in Yale's Woolsey Hall and tours internationally and domestically. The present Music Director is Toshiyuki Shimada.-History:...

, the Idyllwild
Arts Orchestra, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, Serenata Santa Fe,
Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 soprano Lauren Flanigan, and Grammy-nominated soprano
Judith Kellock. His compositions are published by Liben Music Publishers,
Discordia Music and the International Society of Bassists. His music is
recorded on the Gasparo and Albany

Albany Records

Albany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...

 labels.

As a conductor, Askim has served as Music Director of Branford Chamber
Orchestra, and makes frequent guest conducing appearances, including the
Wroclaw (Poland) Chamber Orchestra Sotto Voce and the Honolulu Symphony

Honolulu Symphony

The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...

 Orchestra. He has premiered numerous works: most recently Swansong by Richard Danielpour

Richard Danielpour

Richard Danielpour is an American composer.-Biography:Danielpour is born of Persian/Jewish descent. He studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986...

.

He is a frequent recitalist for the International Society of Bassists and the International Contrabass Festival. He was a guest recitalist and
teacher at the World Bass Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. He has also
received critical praise as a jazz artist in JazzTimes

JazzTimes

JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...

, the New York Post

New York Post

The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

 and New York Newsday

Newsday

Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

.

Selected works

• Islands: Concerto for Double Bass and String Orchestra
• Moving, Still for Orchestra
• As Glaciers Thaw... for String Orchestra
• ...but the rain... for Shakuhachi
  Shakuhachi
  The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
  
   and 21-string Koto
  Koto (musical instrument)
  The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
  
  
• Eight Solitudes for Bass and Piano
• Edge for Solo Double Bass
• Meridians for Orchestra

External links

• Official Home Page
• Peter Askim MySpace Page