 He moved to Minnesota with his family in 1961.He studied composition at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and, after graduating from The Blake School, went on to study composition and performance at the California Institute of the Arts from 1975 to 1977 under the tutelage of his mentor the composer Harold Budd.Chan Poling has written and performed music in a variety of musical genres, including dance, theater, film, and rock.