Chou Wen-Chung: The Life and Work of a Contemporary Chinese-Born American Composer. By Peter M. Chang. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5296-9 (hardcover). pp. xiv, 241. $65.00.

Although his music is still relatively unknown, Chinese American composer Chou Wen-Chung (b. 1923) has had a tremendous impact on the contemporary music scene in North America and East Asia over the past three decades. A strong advocate of developing "a new mainstream" that synthesizes concepts and practices from different musical and artistic cultures, Chou has made several teaching trips to China, Taiwan, and other Asian countries. Moreover, as a composition professor and dean at Columbia University, he was instrumental in attracting numerous young Chinese composers to the United States. Among his doctoral students were Chen Yi, Zhou long, Bright Sheng, and Tan Dun.