Fink, Michael Jon

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Fink, Michael Jon

Fink, Michael Jon, American composer, per-former, and teacher; b. Los Angeles, Dec. 7, 1954. He studied composition at the Calif. Inst. of the Arts with Budd, Kraft, Childs, and Powell (B.F.A., 1976; M.F.A., 1980). He performed with the Negative Band and Stillife. In 1982 he joined the faculty of the Calif. Inst. of the Arts. In 1985 he was composer-in-residence at Northern Mich. Univ. His music is unusually spare and quiet and meticulously crafted, achieving a graceful sense of timelessness. Among his compositions are 2 Pieces for piano (1983), an untitled work for small orch. (1986), Living to Be Hunted by the Moon for clarinet, bass clarinet, and electronics (1987), A Temperament for Angels for computer-controlled electronics and 3 electronic keyboards (1989), Sound Shroud Garden, sound installation (with Jim Fox; 1989), Epitaph for bass clarinet (1990), Thread of Summer for clarinet and string quartet (1990), Spring Steps Into Darkness for bass clarinet and orch. (1992), Mind of Winter for soprano saxophone and orch. (1994), and Temptation to Flower for 18 players (1995). He publ. Inside the Music Business: Music in Contemporary Life (N.Y, 1989).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire