David Chaitkin (1938–2011) was a composer of symphonic, chamber, and vocal works. His music has been performed by such ensembles as the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the DaCapo Chamber Players, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. He was twice honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He was commissioned by Chamber Music America, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and the Gotland (Sweden) Chamber Music Festival, as well as individual soloists and ensembles. Chaitkin followed early experience as a jazz musician with studies in composition at Pomona College and the University of California, Berkeley, where he received its Prix de Paris. His teachers included Luigi Dallapiccola, Seymour Shifrin, Max Deutsch, Andrew Imbrie, and Karl Kohn. He taught at Reed College, New York University, and Brooklyn College.
David Chaitkin
Studios
Watson
David Chaitkin worked in the Watson studio.
Built in 1916 in memory of Regina Watson of Chicago, a musician and teacher, this studio was donated by a group of her friends, along with funds for its maintenance. Originally designed to serve as a composers’ studio with room for performance, Watson was used as a recital hall for chamber music for a…