Aria (1987)

Howard Quilling (1935–2016) — Aria (1987)

American composer Howard Quilling (1935–2016) was born in Enid, Oklahoma and grew up in Napa, California. He was educated at the University of Southern California, California State University at Bakersfield, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. His teachers included Ingolf Dahl, Robert Linn, Ernst Kanitz, Peter Racine Fricker, Emma Lou Diemer, and Edward Appelbaum. Quilling spent the rest of his life in Bakersfield, California where he taught music theory and composition and served as composer in residence to Bakersfield College from 1971 to 2002. In 1988, he established the New Directions Concert Series (which focused on contemporary music) under the auspices of the Bakersfield Symphony. Quilling wrote more than 200 compositions, which were performed and recorded by performers and ensembles across the USA.