Clarence Barlow

Barlow, Clarence Albertson (b. December 27, 1945, Calcutta). Composer born in India into a family of European descent and culture of mostly orchestral, chamber, piano, and electroacoustic works that have been performed throughout the world.

Mr. Barlow composed his first works at age eleven and obtained a degree in natural sciences at Calcutta University in 1965 and a diploma through the Trinity College of Music in London while still in Calcutta in 1965. He then had his first experiences with European music of the Middle Ages and North Indian art music and later studied electronic music at the Musikhochschule Köln from 1968-73, where he also studied composition with Bernd Alois Zimmermann from 1968-70 and Karlheinz Stockhausen from 1971-73. He has worked at many electronic studios, including ones in Amsterdam, Chicago, Den Haag, Paris, Stockholm, and Utrecht.

Among his honors are the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at Darmstadt (1980) and the Förderpreis from the city of Cologne (1981). In addition, he has been a member of the International Academy of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges since 1994.
Mr. Barlow is also active in other positions. He has conducted number-theory experiments with meter and tonality since 1971. He co-founded GIMIK: Initiative Musik und Informatik Köln in 1986 and served as music director of the International Computer Music Conference in Cologne in 1988.

He taught at the Calcutta School of Music from 1966-68. He lectured at Darmstadt from 1982-94 and has lectured on computer music at the Musikhochschule Köln since 1994. He also served as artistic director of the Institute of Sonology of the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag from 1990-94, where he has taught as Professor of Composition and Sonology since 1994.

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  • Clarence Barlow