Charles Shere was born in Berkeley, California, in 1935; studied with Robert Erickson, Luciano Berio, and Gerhard Samuel; taught at Mills College; produced radio and television programs at KPFA and KQED; wrote art and music criticism for the Oakland Tribune; and has published a number of books and musical scores. He blogs at cshere.blogspot.com; his website is www.shere.org