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I
was born in Tacoma, Washington April
11, 1926.
1945
I was drafted and served out my military
duties in Kyushu, Japan, from September
1945 to November 1946.
1950
Back near Tacoma, I graduated with a
Bachelor's degree in English and a Bachelor's
degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran
College. |
In
l951 I returned to Japan, hired by Meiji
Gakuin University, where I taught English for
five years.
1951-56
I lived with a Japanese family that in time
became as close to me as my own American family.
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During his high school days in the late l930's and early l940's, Mr. Foreman attended the summer music program at the University of Washington studying music composition. A number of his vocal compositions date from this period. His career is intricately bound with Japan. At the age of 18, he was drafted into the United States Armed Forces where he served in post-war Japan. His enchantment with the orient lead him back to Japan five years later after graduating from Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma, Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature. He taught English language and literature in a university in Tokyo. In l956 he returned to the United States. He further studied music composition at The Mannes College of Music in New York City.
He also taught Japanese at Columbia University where he obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. In l961 the United States Air Force recruited him to return to Japan to teach English to the Japan Self Defense Air Force pilots in southern Japan. However, the Sony Corporation in Tokyo requested him to establish what later became known as the Sony Language Laboratory. He worked for the Sony Corporation until l970.
During this period he studied music composition under the late Dr. Klaus Prinzheim, music director of Tokyo's Musahino Music Academy. Dr. Prinzheim was a student of Gustav Mahler. Mr. Foreman continued to compose with works ranging from symphonic works through chamber music to a vast collection of vocal music, much of which he has orchestrated. In l970 returning to the academic world in Tokyo, he taught English at Toyo Eiwa University as well as at Shoin University.
From the l980's on, his works were presented in a concert at Tokyo's prestigious Bunkakaikan Hall, were broadcast by the Japan National Broadcasting Company, and his vocal music was presented by Tokyo's leading soloists in various recitals. He became a resident composer of Tokyo.
During the l990's three of his works were recorded by the Radio and Symphony Orchestra of Krakow, Poland. In February of 2003 The Northwest Symphony Orchestra presented one of his orchestral compositions. Mr. Foreman now resides in Seattle, Washington.
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