A pioneering force behind the evolution of minimalism, violinist and composer Tony Conrad introduced the idea of "Eternal Music," a droning, mesmerizing performance idiom that employed long durations, amplification, and precise pitch to explore new worlds of sound; through both his solo work and through collaborations with artists including LaMonte Young, John Cale, and Faust, he forged new creative directions that proved enormously influential on successive generations of artists ranging in background from pop to the avant-garde. Born in Baltimore in 1940, Conrad studied music at Harvard, where he was first exposed to the work of John Cage and David Tudor; among his fellow students were David Behrman, Christian Wolff, and Frederic Rzewski, all of whom later pursued careers in experimental music as well.