About

Paul Kawabe (b. 1997) is a Japanese-Canadian composer based in Toronto, Ontario. Paul's work has been played by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Scarborough Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and several chamber ensembles. Paul was a composer fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2023-2024 season, his piece Seven Thousand Paper Cranes was given it's world premiere by the Orchestra in November 2023. Paul holds a Master's degree in composition (2022) from The University of Toronto where he studied under the guidance of Professor Gary Kulesha. Paul has also participated in composition programs at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (2019), the Orford Music Academy (2020), the Scarborough Philharmonic's New Generation Composer Program (2020), and the Next Generation Composer mentorship (2024) with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. During these programs, he has had the chance to learn from composers and teachers such as Dinuk Wijeratne, Dorothy Chang, Jocelyn Morlock, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, and John Adams. Paul was a recipient of an Arts Grant from the Japanese Canadian Legacies Fund in 2024 which supported the creation of a new piece for chamber ensemble Signals and it's premiere in August 2025.Outside of composing, he spends his time writing code as a web/software developer, practicing guitar, cleaning fountain pens, and looking for birds at Tommy Thompson Park.