LibGuides: Diversity in Classical Music: AAPI/Asian

Explore Repertoire

AAPI/Asian Composers

Here are just a few of many AAPI/Asian composers. Click to see a list of their music in our library.

Isang Yun (1917-1995)
Ravi Shankar (1920-2012)
Chou Wên-chung (1923-2019)
Toshirō Mayuzumi (1929-1997)
Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996)
Keiko Abe (b. 1937)
Paul Chihara (b. 1938)

Chen Yi (b. 1953)
Zhou Long (b. 1953)
Bright Sheng (b. 1955)
Tan Dun (b. 1957)
Lei Liang (b. 1972)
Kenji Bunch (b. 1973)
Andy Akiho (b. 1979)

Discover More Composers

Use the resources below to discover other AAPI/Asian composers. Then, search their name in our catalog to find their music in the library.

If we don't own a piece you want, search for it in WorldCat and click "ILL this with ILLiad" to borrow a copy from another library. Or, contact Tracey Rudnick (rudnick@hartford.edu, 860.768.4404) to suggest we buy a copy.

Repertoire Guides Online

Various Instrumentation

Asian American Composers (T. Front list)
Composers with works available from Theodore Front.
The Composers Equity Project
List of women, gender non-conforming, and ALAANA composers.
Institute for Composer Diversity
Research resources plus databases of composers and works searchable by genre, ensemble, and composers' demographic information.

Specific Instruments/Groups

Catalog of Trumpet Works by Gender-Marginalized People and/or Black, Indigenous, or Persons of Color
An extensive list of works for trumpet solo and in ensemble. Use the tabs at the top to navigate between different sections.
No Broken Links
Solo and chamber repertoire for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, and horn. Focuses on work by BIPOC, women, transgender, & gender non-conforming individuals.
A Seat at the Piano
Piano works from over 200 composers of diverse backgrounds and identities. Searchable by nationality and other keywords.
Underrepresented Composer Database (Viola)
Over 1500 solo and chamber works for viola by underrepresented composers. Also accepts submissions for new works to add.
Wind Repertory Project
A comprehensive database of wind literature. Browse by solo instrument, ensemble, or composer category.

Anthologies in the Library (selections)

In the library, most music by AAPI/Asian composers is not published in AAPI-specific anthologies. Use one of the resources listed above to find a name or work title you're interested in, and then search it the library catalog.

However, we do have a few country-specific anthologies for art songs:

Contemporary Chinese Art Songs by Mei Zhong (Editor)
Call Number: M1619 C455 [Allen shelves]
For high or low voice, 2 volumes each.
Japanese Art Song Anthology by Kumiko Shimizu, Mutsumi Moteki (Editors)
Call Number: M1812 J363 [Allen shelves]
For high or medium/low voice, 2 volumes each.
Korean Art Songs: An Anthology and Guide for Performance and Study by Moon-Sook Park, You-Seong Kim (Editors)
Call Number: M1816 K674 [Allen shelves]
For high and medium/low voice, 2 volumes.

Research

Books (selections)

Locating East Asia in Western Art Music by Yayoi Uno Everett, Frederick Lau (Editors)
Call Number: ML330 L633 2004 [Allen shelves]
A comparative study of Asian-influenced Western composers and Western-influenced Asian composers.
Musicians from a Different Shore by Mari Yoshihara
Call Number: ML3795 Y67 2007 [Allen shelves]
Explores why musicians of Asian descent enjoy unprecedented prominence in classical music, and discusses the connections between race and culture.
Soundtracks of Asian America by Grace Wang
Call Number: ML3560 A85 W35 2015 [Allen shelves]
Explores how Asian Americans use music to construct narratives of self, race, class, and belonging.

Find more books about AAPI/Asian people in music

Click to see the newest AAPI studies books in the Allen Library

Search subjects in the catalog:
Asian American musicians
Music > Asia
Music > China
Music > India
Music > Japan
Music > Social aspects > Asia
To find more, use the subjects above, but substitute different countries/regions.
For example, Music > [Asia, East Asia, Philippines, etc.]

...or search specific names, for example:
Ravi Shankar
Tōru Takemitsu
Isang Yun

Music Reference Databases

Grove/Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Music encyclopedia with works lists and citations. Search a particular country or person's name, for example, Japan or Chou Wen-chung
Oxford Bibliographies - Music This link opens in a new window
Citation lists on many music subjects and people. Search a particular country, region, or person's name, for example, Southeast Asia, Toshi Ichiyanagi, or Music and Asian America.

Journals (selections)

Search articles online or browse the Allen Library current periodicals (near the Allen entrance).
See especially:

Asian Music
Available online only.
Asian-European Music Research Journal
An open-access online journal.
CHIME Journal
An open-access online journal about Chinese music.

Find more articles about AAPI people in music

Search one of the following databases for specific names, work titles, countries, or keywords such as asian, asian-american, AAPI, etc. Note that older research may use outdated terms such as oriental.

Music Index Online This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 700 music journals.
Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 400 music journals.
RILM This link opens in a new window
Citations for scholarly music and dance books, articles, dissertations, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from almost 100 scholarly music, dance, and theatre journals, plus other subjects. Excludes recent years.

Support an Organization

Organizations

Asian Musical Voices of America
Builds community among Asian Americans in classical music, and engages in activism to dismantle structural racism, promote equity, and lift up BIPOC musical voices.
Music of Asian America Research Center (MAARC)
Strives to increase knowledge and awareness of Asian American history and experience through research.
Project Spectrum
A graduate student-led coalition committed to increasing DEIA in music theory, musicology, and ethnomusicology.