• Source: Teiji Ito

Teiji Ito (伊藤貞司, Itō Teiji, January 22, 1935 – August 16, 1982) was a Japanese-born American composer and performer. He is best known for his scores for the avant-garde films by Maya Deren.




Early life


Ito was born in Tokyo, Japan to a theatrical family. His mother, Teiko Ono, was a dancer and his father, Yuji Ito, was a designer and composer. His younger brother Teimoc Johnston-Ono is an Olympic judoka. His family moved to the United States when he was six. Ito accompanied his mother's dance performance at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City; he performed for both Japanese and Korean dance. At 15, he ran away from home. He began to compose at age 17. He met Maya Deren during this time and in 1955, traveled with her to Haiti. There, Ito studied under a master drummer. Ito would also compose the score for Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon at Deren's request. Ito married Deren in 1960 and remained married to her until her death on October 13, 1961.
The Japanese American actor Jerry Ito (1927–2007) was Teiji Ito's first cousin.




Career


Ito won an Obie Award for his scores during the 1960-1961 off-Broadway season; the productions included Brecht's In the Jungle of Cities, King Ubu, and Three Modern Japanese Plays. In 1963, he composed the score for the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ito wrote Watermill which was first performed by the New York City Ballet in 1971. Ito also performed and composed for Jean Erdman's Theater of the Open Eye.
Ito and his fourth wife, Cherel, edited Deren's 1947-1951 footage she shot while in Haiti; this would result in the documentary Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti.




Death


While in Haiti, Ito died of a heart attack in 1982.




Discography


Meshes: Music For Films and Theater (O.O. Discs)
Music For Maya: Early Film Music Of Teiji Ito (Tzadik Records, 2-CD set)
King Ubu (Tzadik)
The Shamanic Principles (Tzadik)
Tenno (Tzadik)
Watermill (Tzadik)




References






External links


Teiji Ito at IMDb
Teiji Ito Tzadik discs
The Teiji Ito papers in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Collection of noncommercial recordings from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Meshes of the Afternoon
• Daftar tokoh Jepang
• The Ballad of Narayama (film 1958)
• Teiji Ito
• Maya Deren
• Teiji
• Jerry Ito
• Itō (surname)
• Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
• Tzadik Records
• Meshes of the Afternoon
• List of ballets by title
• Brood parasitism