Composer and Notation Innovator Dies

Dennis Riley, among the first composers to use a computer to notate music, died on May 6 at the age of 55. Riley, who grew up in Colorado and earned a doctorate in composition from the University of Iowa, began his career as a teacher at California State in Fresno and at Columbia University in New York. In the mid-‘80s he became involved in the use of computer engravings; from that point forward he made a career of preparing computer-notated scores for other composers.

Riley has a large and varied catalog of works published by C.F. Peters, including two one-act operas, the unproduced “Rappaccini’s Daughter” (1984) and the children’s work “Cats’ Concert” (1983). He died of AIDS.