Fabien Lévy came to Columbia University in the fall of 2006. He previously taught orchestration to composition students at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns-Eisler in Berlin (Germany), and computer music at the Sorbonne University in Paris (France). He also worked at the IRCAM Institute, first in the research department, then as pedagogical advisor. Fabien Lévy studied composition with Gérard Grisey at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, as well as analysis with Michael Levinas, ethnomusicology with Gilles Leothaud and orchestration with Marc-André Dalbavie. He received a Ph.D. in musicology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and a master's in mathematical economics (ENSAE & ENS Ulm).

His works, published until 2007 by Billaudot and now by Ricordi Germany, have been performed across Europe, Asia, Africa and America by ensembles and soloists including L'Itinéraire, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. His music has received several awards, including a 2001 DAAD Artist-in-Residence Program Berlin, a 2002 Rostrum of Unesco, the 2003 French Rom prize in the Villa Medici, and the 2004 Siemens Prize for composers.