Biography:

Hugh Aitken was born in New York City in 1924. After two years attending NYU, he volunteered for th Army Air Corps, flying fifteen combat missions as a navigator over Germany and Italy. After the war he entered The Juilliard School, graduating in 1950 with degrees in composition.

Aitken taught at Juilliard from 1950 until 1970 when he moved to William Paterson College in NJ as music chairman and established a jazz program. He retired in 1996. Aitken's music is published by Oxford University Press, Theodore Presser Co. and Calabrese Brothers Music. Eleven of his works are available on recordings.