Ira Taxin was born in NYC in 1950. He received degrees from Boston University and The Juilliard School, and studied with Gardner Read, Roger Sessions, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt. Additional studies at Tanglewood were with Jacob Druckman and Donald Martino. Mr. Taxin is currently Chair of the History and Composition Departments at the Pre-College Division of Juilliard, where he has taught since 1982. He has received numerous commissions, grants, fellowships and awards for his compositions and teaching. Mr. Taxin’s works have been performed by major orchestras, and his music is recorded and published. In addition to his concert music, he has composed, arranged, directed and produced music for television, radio, educational films, feature films, video animation, commercials, musical theatre and stage works.