Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in the
Hailar District of China, in modern-day
Inner Mongolia to an
Imperial Russian Army officer assigned to protect
Trans-Siberian Railway interests. He emigrated to the United States in 1930 and studied music at
Pomona College in
Claremont,
California (B.A., 1935), as well as at the
Eastman School of Music in
Rochester,
New York (M.M., 1936, Ph.D., 1939). Ussachevsky's early, neo-Romantic works were composed for traditional instruments, but in 1951 he began composing electronic music. He served as president of the
American Composers Alliance from 1968 to 1970 and was an advisory member of the
Composers Recordings, Inc. record label, which released recordings of a number of his compositions. Recordings of his music have also been released on the Capstone, d'Note, and
New World labels. ==Teaching career==