Simon Hutchinson’s work as an artist and composer spans a number of genres. Having grown up as “Third Culture Kid” in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Boston, Hutchinson developed an appreciation of cross-cultural interchange and communication. Now, drawing on experience from his life as a global nomad, he creates unique work that integrates music of different cultures and styles, exploring themes of nature, humanity, and global community.

Hutchinson holds a BA in Music from Bates College, an MA in Music Composition from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is a PhD candidate in Composition with supporting coursework in Intermedia Music Technology (IMT) at the University of Oregon. Notable composition teachers include Bill Matthews (Bates), Hi Kyung Kim (UCSC), David Cope (UCSC), Peter Elsea (UCSC), Robert Kyr (UO), David Crumb (UO) and Jeffrey Stolet (UO). Additionally, Hutchinson spent several years in Japan studying shamisen (three-stringed lute) and Japanese Folk Music with virtuoso Sato Asao and shakuhachi (vertical bamboo flute) with Sato Chikuen.

Hutchinson’s compositions have been performed across the US, Japan, and Korea. He has been awarded the 1st Young Composers’ Competition of CMEK (Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea, 2008), and his work has also been recognized by the University of Oregon Graduate School Research Award (2008), the University of Oregon Ruth Close Musical Fellowship (2008), ASCAPlus Composer’s Awards (2007, 2008, 2009), the Porter Associate Fellows Graduate Arts Research Grant (2007), UCSC Music Department Graduate Fellowship (2005, 2006), and the Bates College Key Music Award (2002). Currently, Hutchinson is a Graduate Teaching Fellow in Intermedia Music Technology at the University of Oregon.

shamisen

As a shamisen player, Hutchinson regularly performs public concerts with Japanese, American, and Korean performers. He has appeared on the Japanese national public broadcasting station NHK and the program “Kubota Min’yô Okunimeguri” (”Folk Music Around the Country”), as well as on the 2006 folk-music album “Tamashi no Hibiki” (”Sounds of the Soul”). He currently acts as the director of the pacific-rim group, the TaiHei Ensemble.

bass

As a bassist, Hutchinson performs in a both concert and vernacular genres, appearing on a number of albums, including mrs. skannotto’s burning inferno of fire, Oscarson and Blauer’s Brewed for Good Times, and David Brusie’s Flyover State. He is currently principal bassist of the ECCE (Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble).

You may contact him at simon [ at-sign ] simonhutchinson [ period ] com.

Selected Works

2010

sweet; shamisen and cello
PulseStream; ajaeng and electronics
Umagata; flute and guitar
Requiem; shamisen and electronics
Diaspora; gayageum and alto sax
Long Distance; brass trio
On This Day in March; solo soprano and piano
21st-Century Matsuri; eight-channel fixed media
Sea Lily; solo soprano

2009

In this short Life; men’s choir
Touch lightly Nature’s sweet Guitar; mixed chorus
five; piri, gayageum, flugelhorn, violin, cello
Ewha, Nabi; soprano voice, gayageum, and fixed media
Zephyr; soprano saxophone (or flute), e. guitar, piano, e. contrabass
The Morphology of Nature in an Industrialized World; clarinet, perc.
haru no umi; electronic (8-channel)
hayashi; chamber orchestra
BEAM; Balinese gamelan
The Tundric Ecotone; mixed septet
membrana tympaniformis; solo piccolo
hatsuyuki; electronic (8-channel)

2008

fûrin; flute and trumpet
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove; pierrot ensemble
Through Frozen Fields; soprano, violin, viola, cello, bass
An Evening with Noriaki Yuasa; alto sax and DVD
PRAYERS; clarinet & violin, violin & viola, or alto flute and viola
bioComputer; shakuhachi and clarinet
Three Haiku; a cappella choir
The Great Peace of Gyeonggi; violin solo
Momijigari; mezzo-soprano, flute, and two percussionists
Epsilon Aurigae; gayageum duet

2007

of modesty and splendor; daegeum, gayageum, janggu, clarinet, cello
colloquy for Sanjo Gayageum and Tsugaru Jamisen
Tr!o; treble, bass, & percussion
interaction in the subatomic world; mixed sextet
Four Short Pieces for American Trio; banjo, saw, percussion
Sotapanna; solo piano
Ten Bulls; string quartet & Tsugaru shamisen
Spheres; piano & percussion

2006

hanami; solo piano
Raindrops; synthesizer
tonbo; mixed octet
When I Sing Unto Thee; a cappella choir
Anamnesis & Catharsis; violoncello & gayageum
becca+joel; mezzo-soprano & wind-controller
gaikyoku; woodwind quintet

2005

den gen; compact disc, electro-acoustic iTunes
Nightmares in Binary; synthesizer & guitar

2004

Towa, June 1st, 2004; tape & synthesizer
hoshi meguri no uta; electro-acoustic
You’re Always Angry in My Dreams; solo piano