Harry Bulow was born in Des Moines,
Iowa on February 19, 1951 and grew up in Iowa,
Minnesota and California. In his formative
years he studied organ, saxophone, clarinet and
flute. His principal teachers of musical
composition and orchestration include Aaron
Copland, Peter Mennin, Henri Lazarof, Roy
Travis, David Ward-Steinman and Henry
Mancini. His works have received numerous
prizes including 1st Prize at the International
Composers Competition in Trieste, Italy, the
“Oscar Espla” Prize from the city of Alicante,
Spain, and NEA Composer Fellowship and 25
consecutive awards from the American Society
of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He
received his B.A. with distinction in music from
San Diego State University (1975), M.A. and
Ph.D. from UCLA (1978, 1983).
Iowa on February 19, 1951 and grew up in Iowa,
Minnesota and California. In his formative
years he studied organ, saxophone, clarinet and
flute. His principal teachers of musical
composition and orchestration include Aaron
Copland, Peter Mennin, Henri Lazarof, Roy
Travis, David Ward-Steinman and Henry
Mancini. His works have received numerous
prizes including 1st Prize at the International
Composers Competition in Trieste, Italy, the
“Oscar Espla” Prize from the city of Alicante,
Spain, and NEA Composer Fellowship and 25
consecutive awards from the American Society
of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He
received his B.A. with distinction in music from
San Diego State University (1975), M.A. and
Ph.D. from UCLA (1978, 1983).
His works have been performed by the San Antonio Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Honolulu
Symphony, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, New England Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble,
Moscow National Symphonic Band and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. Bulow's musical style
reveals influences from Witold Lutoslawski, Karel Husa, Peter Mennin and Henry Mancini.
Musically eclectic, his music often includes aspects of sound-mass composition, minimalism, and
American jazz. One of the key elements of his musical idiom is the integration of jazz and
commercial music with more classical and avant-garde oriented designs. The contemporary
problems of fragmentation and brokenness found throughout society are qualities that the composer
has integrated into his music. He was the first to combine the use of traditional Japanese
instruments with the Western wind ensemble. And he developed two new forms of music, Micro
Music and Fracto-Music. Micro-Music is the creation of concise musical art pieces of short
duration. Some works may be as short as 5 seconds (Ex.: "The Pitch" for Band, Announcer, P.A.
System and Data Projector). Fracto music is a form of music where a melody or other musical
parameters such as harmony, rhythm, or timbre, may be broken into small fragmented units and
recombined with itself or other musical structures within a work; a form of musical deconstructionism
(Ex.: "Boulevard Blues" for Two Pianos).
He has appeared as a saxophone soloist with numerous bands and orchestras throughout the United
States including the Honolulu, Santa Barbara, and the San Diego symphony orchestras. He is
Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Lamar University
in Beaumont, TX.
Symphony, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, New England Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble,
Moscow National Symphonic Band and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. Bulow's musical style
reveals influences from Witold Lutoslawski, Karel Husa, Peter Mennin and Henry Mancini.
Musically eclectic, his music often includes aspects of sound-mass composition, minimalism, and
American jazz. One of the key elements of his musical idiom is the integration of jazz and
commercial music with more classical and avant-garde oriented designs. The contemporary
problems of fragmentation and brokenness found throughout society are qualities that the composer
has integrated into his music. He was the first to combine the use of traditional Japanese
instruments with the Western wind ensemble. And he developed two new forms of music, Micro
Music and Fracto-Music. Micro-Music is the creation of concise musical art pieces of short
duration. Some works may be as short as 5 seconds (Ex.: "The Pitch" for Band, Announcer, P.A.
System and Data Projector). Fracto music is a form of music where a melody or other musical
parameters such as harmony, rhythm, or timbre, may be broken into small fragmented units and
recombined with itself or other musical structures within a work; a form of musical deconstructionism
(Ex.: "Boulevard Blues" for Two Pianos).
He has appeared as a saxophone soloist with numerous bands and orchestras throughout the United
States including the Honolulu, Santa Barbara, and the San Diego symphony orchestras. He is
Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Lamar University
in Beaumont, TX.
Harry T. Bulow
