About

Paul Kawabe (b. 1997) is a Japanese-Canadian composer based in Toronto, Ontario. Paul's compositions have received recognition and praise from respected musical groups and audiences having been performed by ensembles like the Scarborough Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Paul was a composer fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2023-2024 season and 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. Additionally, Paul has participated in esteemed composition programs at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (2019), the Orford Music Academy (2020), the New Generation Composer Program (2020) with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Next Generation Composer mentorship (2024) with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. During these programs, he has had the chance to learn from gifted composers and teachers such as Dinuk Wijeratne, Dorothy Chang, Jocelyn Morlock, Abigail Richardson-Schulte, and John Adams. Outside of composing, he spends his time writing code as a web/software developer, practicing guitar, cleaning his fountain pens, and looking for birds at Tommy Thompson Park.