October 3, 1936 Steve Reich is born in New York

1958-1961 Studies at the Juilliard School with composers William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti

1963 Receives M.A. in Music from Mills College, where he worked with Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud.

1965 Reich uses tape loops in "It's Gonna Rain" samples the words of a street preacher.

1966 Founds his own ensemble of three musicians, which rapidly grew to 18 members or more.

1970 Studies drumming at the Institute for African Studies at the University of Ghana in Accra.

1971 “Drumming,” a 90-minute piece for a 9-piece percussion ensemble plus female voices and piccolo is the result of five-week trip to study music in Ghana

1973-74 Studies Balinese Gamelan at the American Society for Eastern Arts in Seattle and Berkeley.

1974 Reich writes what many would call his seminal work, Music for 18 Musicians. The piece is based around a cycle of eleven chords.

1980s The 80s mark several pieces built on political themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage.

1988 Different Trains for string quartet and tape, draws on memories of childhood cross-country train trips and the associated sounds.

1990 Receives a Grammy for Different Trains as recorded by the Kronos Quartet on the Nonesuch label

1999 Lincoln Center Festival presents a major retrospective of Reich's work.

2004 You Are (Variations)

2006 Daniel Variations