Clarinetist, composer and ethnomusicologist Elliot Weisgarber (December 5, 1919 - December 31, 2001) was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He studied clarinet and composition at the Eastman School of Music where he earned his Bachelor and Masters degrees in music as well as a Performer's Certificate in clarinet. Following his graduation in 1943, Weisgarber spent one year teaching at Colby Junior College in New Hampshire before moving on to a sixteen-year career at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. In 1960, he was invited to join the faculty of the newly-formed music department at the University of British Columbia. Weisgarber's relocation to the west coast helped nourish his well-developed interest in Asian cultures and he spent a great deal of time in Japan studying the classical music of that country and, in particular, developing expertise in shakuhachi (vertical bamboo flute) playing. He retired from UBC in 1984. Weisgarber established the music publishing firm Elliot Weisgarber Associates in 1994 with his daughter Karen Suzanne Smithson and remained active as a composer until his death. When he died in 2001 at the age of 82, Weisgarber had created a catalogue of 450 compositions including chamber music, songs, orchestral works and scores for film, radio and television.