Kenji Bunch

Kenji Bunch (born July 27, 1973) is an American composer and violist living in Portland, OR[1]. Bunch currently serves as the Artistic Director of Fear No Music[2] and teaches at Portland State University,[3] Reed College,[4] and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.[5] Known for "amalgamating traditional American musical forms... and European-based classical music,"[6] Bunch's work for chamber ensemble, orchestra and ballet often incorporates elements of hip hop, jazz, bluegrass and funk to critical acclaim.[7][8][9] Over sixty American orchestras have performed Bunch’s music; his film credits include The Bellman Equation and The Argentum Prophecies; and his discography includes recordings on Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, Kleos Classics, RCA, Naxos, Pony Canyon, GENUIN, Capstone, MSR Classics, Innova, ARS, and Crystal labels.[10]

Kenji Bunch
Born
Portland, Oregon
NationalityAmerican

Education and career

Bunch performed in the Portland Youth Philharmonic for five years (1986–1991). He graduated from Wilson High School (Portland, Oregon) in 1991 then attended The Juilliard School, where he earned degrees in viola performance (studying with Toby Appel) and composition (studying with Robert Beaser).[11][12] In 1998, Bunch became a Young Concert Artists’ Composer-in-Residence, as chosen by a panel of distinguished YCA alumni.[13] Over sixty American orchestras have performed Bunch’s music, which “reache(s) into every section of the orchestra to create an intriguing mixture of sonic colors.”[14] Recent works include commissions and premieres from the Seattle Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Lark Quartet, the Britt Festival, Music From Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, the Eugene Ballet, and the Grant Park Music Festival.[15] All-Bunch concerts have been mounted in New York City, Boston, Denver, Nashville, Mobile (AL) and Portland (OR), as well as at the Perpignon Conservatoire in southern France, the Stamford Festival in England, and The Oranjewoud Festival in The Netherlands. Bunch's film credits include The Bellman Equation[16] and The Argentum Prophecies,[17] and his extensive discography includes recordings on Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, Kleos Classics, RCA, Naxos, Pony Canyon, GENUIN, Capstone, MSR Classics, Innova, ARS, and Crystal labels.[18]


Bunch was a founding member of the ensembles Flux Quartet (1996-2002) and Ne(x)tworks (2003-2011), and played fiddle and sang with the band Citigrass for over 15 years. He is a frequent performer with jazz, pop, folk, country, rock, and experimental musicians, and his collaborations with the dance world include work with choreographers such as Toni Pimble, David Parsons, Nai-Ni Chen, Kate Skarpetowska, Paul Vasterling, and Darrell Grand Moultrie.


In June 2013, Bunch was named the interim director of the Fear No Music Young Composers Project.[19][20] Since 2014, Bunch has served as Artistic Director of Fear No Music, and teaches viola, composition, and music theory at Portland State University, Reed College, and for the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

See also

References
  1. Oregonian/OregonLive, David Stabler | Special to The (2013-06-15). "From Brooklyn to Portland: Composer Kenji Bunch returns to his roots". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  2. Oregonian/OregonLive, David Stabler | Special to The (2014-03-25). "Kenji Bunch has big plans as new artistic director of Fear No Music". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  3. "Portland State College of the Arts: School of Music & Theater | Music & Theater Faculty". www.pdx.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  4. "Reed College | Music | Kenji Bunch". www.reed.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  5. "PYP Ensembles | About | Portland Youth Philharmonic". portlandyouthphil.org. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  6. "Kenji Bunch: Seeing the Elephant". Oregon ArtsWatch. 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  7. Tommasini, Anthony (2004-02-04). "MUSIC REVIEW; Where Are the New Composers? Right Here". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  8. Bash, James (2017-03-15). "Northwest Reverb: Bunch's new work perks up the ears and scores big time with Oregon Symphony audience". Northwest Reverb. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  9. Sobel, Jon; BLOGCRITICS.ORG (2017-07-19). "Music Review: Kenji Bunch - 'The Snow Queen' Ballet Score from Orchestra Next". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  10. "Kenji Bunch - Bill Holab Music". www.billholabmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
  11. "Alumni Spotlight: Composer to Watch". Wilson Alumni Association. 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  12. Stabler, David (March 9, 2010). "Homecoming for composer Kenji Bunch at the Portland Youth Philharmonic". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  13. "Strings - Viola - Kenji Bunch - Boston Records". www.bostonrecords.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  14. Bash, James (2017-03-15). "Northwest Reverb: Bunch's new work perks up the ears and scores big time with Oregon Symphony audience". Northwest Reverb. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  15. "Kenji Bunch - Bill Holab Music". www.billholabmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  16. "The Bellman Equation, Richard Bellman, The Movie". www.bellmanequation.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  17. "The Argentum Prophecies". argentumprophecies.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  18. "Kenji Bunch". www.arkivmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  19. "From Brooklyn to Portland: Composer Kenji Bunch returns to his roots"
  20. "Young Composers Project". Archived from the original on 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
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