A Columbia-based composer won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship yesterday.
Yoshiaki Onishi is a contemporary classical composer and one of 175 scholars, artists and scientists awarded a spot in the Fellows class of 2018. He is one of 12 recipients in the music composition category.
“I could not believe it when I received the email,” Onishi said. “I still have to take some time to get used to the idea.”
The 36-year-old Japanese-American credits his big moment to a long list of mentors who supported his ambition to make music.
“There are so many people I am indebted to,” he said.
He plans to use the grant to travel to meet other musicians, research instrumentation and ultimately compose an orchestra piece.