A Chicago native, Doug Lofstrom has been composing prolifically since the 1970's; his wide-ranging style reflects his ongoing involvement in dance, film, theater and symphonic music. Currently residing in the Chicago area, he has been composer-in-residence for the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and musical director of Chicago's Free Street Theater. His works have been performed by the St. Louis, Atlanta and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, and the Present Music and CUBE chamber ensembles. He has taught at Columbia College since 1986, and has been a full-time faculty member since 1999. He is conductor of their New Music Ensemble, which he founded in 2000. His most recent endeavors include Alakshaya, for Natya Dance Theatre, a series of three Concertinos for solo instrument and orchestra (oboe, harp & trumpet), commissioned, performed and recorded by the New Philharmonic Orchestra and three works for the Evansville, IN "musictelling" group Tales and Scales, including The Arabian Nights, Just Beyond the Junkyard and Jabberwocky. In 2001, Lofstrom formed The New Quartet, a versatile chamber ensemble which performs his original music and arrangements of modern classics, jazz and world music. He has been active as a performer and improviser on double-bass and other instruments since the 1970's.