Reich is a minimalist composer favored by fans of classical and rock alike. His repetitive, pulsing rhythms and spoken word samples have influenced everyone from Brian Eno to prog rockers like King Crimson.

Reich spent his youth shuttling between California and his native New York before attending Cornell and moving to the city, where he supported himself with odd jobs including driving a moving van with composer Philip Glass. Reich wrote his seminal work, "Music for 18 Musicians," in the mid-1970s, around the same time he formed his first ensemble, Steve Reich and Musicians. Since then, he's composed dozens of works and toured all over the world, earning countless awards and acclaim. Although you'll never hear Reich's work on mainstream radio, his influence has been far-reaching. Once described by the Times as "our greatest living composer," Reich is particularly famous for his use of tape loops and phrasing, a technique he first explored with "It's Gonna Rain": the piece utilized a portion of a speech by Pentecostal preacher Brother Walter that played on two reel-to-reel recorders moving at different speeds. [Image via Getty]