Having developed a unique compositional technique based on "composite instruments," Chaya Czernowin has composed a wide range of operatic and symphonic pieces. The lengthy list of orchestras that have performed Czernowin's work include the Arditti Quartet, Elision, Ensemble Recherche, Nieuw Ensemble, Sur Plus, Sonor, Helsinki Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de Mexico, the ORF Austria Radio Orchestra, Ute Wassermannand theMunich Philharmonic. She was commissioned to compose an opera for the Munich Biennial 2000. A former student of Abel Ehrlich, Izchak Sadai, Dieter Schnabel, Eli Yarden, Joan Tower, Brian Ferneyhough and Roger Reynolds, Czernowin has taught at the University of California, San Diego, since 1997, and the Yoshiro Irino Institute in Tokyo. A native of Israel, Czernowin has lived in Germany, Japan and the United States.