Long before Kenji Bunch established himself as one of America’s most influential and prolific composers, he came to classical music in a way familiar to many young Asian Americans. “For a long time, I’ve tried to come up with any other reason, something somehow more intelligent,” he said. “But what I’ve realized is that I saw classical music as my calling largely because it made my parents happy.” Bunch, who was born and raised in Portland, grew up in a biracial household with two parents he describes as “deeply committed parents but deeply wounded people.” His dad grew up impoverished, the son of a sheep rancher in Eastern Oregon.