Jere Hutcheson

Biography

Jere Hutcheson achieves a symphonic sound in his band scores – a sound more akin to that of the orchestra than the band. When asked how he manages this, he responded: “My training was in piano. I never played in an orchestra or band. I come to my scoring through my fingers on the keyboard. My inner ear helps me imagine and choose the sounds I like.” He has returned to the band medium often, producing in the 1970’s Sensations for Symphonic Band and Audience, Passacaglia; Colossus, Cyclic Variations; Earth Gods Symphony, Chromophonic Images; in the 1980’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Orchestra and Five French Portraits; in the 1990’s Caricatures, and More Caricatures; and in the 2000’s Caricatures III, Concerto for Solo Percussion and Winds, A Spartan’s Dream, Divertimento for Solo Flute, Winds and Percussion, Gradus ad Parnassum – Caricatures IV, Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Symphony, Desert Flower, Reflections – Caricatures V, Sunrise, Sunset, GAMES, Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Symphony,and EARTH SONG, Concerto for Oboe and Wind Symphony.

Jere Hutcheson was born in Marietta, Georgia, in 1938.  He studied composition with Frances Buxton at Stetson University, Helen Gunderson at Louisiana State University, H. Owen Reed at Michigan State University, and Gunther Schuller, and Ernst Krenek at the Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood, Massachusetts. His earliest inspiration to become a composer came in his early teen years from his piano teacher, Harry Bolza. Hutcheson began his teaching career at Michigan State University in 1965. He chaired the composition area from 1975 until 1992.

Jere Hutcheson has received composition fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, and the Vermont Composers Conference.  He was accorded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Michigan Council for the Arts, and the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music.  He has received numerous awards and commissions throughout his career. In 1976, the National Music Teachers Association honored him with the citation Distinguished Composer of the Year.

His works have been performed throughout the USA and Canada, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia.  He has received performances by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble, the Verdehr Trio, the Norman Luboff Choir, the Duo Contemporain of the Netherlands, DuoDenum of Denmark, and many of the finest university wind ensembles and concert choirs in most states of the USA.

Hutcheson’s instrumental compositions are published by C. Alan Publications, G. Schirmer, Subito Music, American Composers Edition, and Dorn Publications. His choral works are published through Walton and Subito Music. The Jere Hutcheson Archive in the Library at Michigan State University holds Hutcheson’s complete compositional output (scores and recordings), as well as many early drafts, notes on compositional processes, correspondence, etc. Hutcheson was a member of ASCAP (American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers) from 1969 until 1980. In 1980, he moved his membership to BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated). Lists of his works can be found on the web pages of these two organizations.

ACE Publications

55 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
Jere Hutcheson ABOUT 4tpt, 4tbn
Jere Hutcheson CHROMOPHONIC SKETCHES pf
Jere Hutcheson CONCERTINO FOR ORCHESTRA pic/2-2-2-2; 4-3-3-1; timp; perc; str
Jere Hutcheson CONCERTO FOR PIANO & WIND ORCH pic -3-1-ehn-Ebcl-3-bcl-satb sax-2, 4-3-3-1, 2perc
Jere Hutcheson Concerto for Violin and Small Orchestra small orchestra
Jere Hutcheson Dance of Time, Symphony for Large Orchestra large orchestra
Jere Hutcheson Divertimento for Solo Flute, Winds, and Percussion 2ob-Ebcl-3cl-bcl-2bsn-cbsn-4sax(satbar); tpt-2hn-btbn-euph-tba; cb; 3perc
Jere Hutcheson DUO CONCERTANTE vln,pf
Jere Hutcheson DUO-SONATA cl,perc
Jere Hutcheson EARTH GODS Band(PIC-3-2-SOP CL-3-BCL- 2 ASX,tSAX,BAR SAX-2, 4-3COR-2TPT-3-2 euph-tb, cb, 5 perc,solo ww qnt
Jere Hutcheson Earth Song Solo oboe, fls. 1-2-3, cls. 1-2, bass cl., bns. 1-2, C bn, soprano sax., alto sax, tenor sax, bar. sax, tpts 1-2, hns 1-2, tbns 1-2-3, euph.,tuba, perc. 1-2-3-4
Jere Hutcheson FIVE FRENCH PORTRAITS Band(min no of players, per comp)8-3-12-4sax-2,4-8-6-2euph-3,cb,5perc
Jere Hutcheson FIVE-MINUTE WARM-UP
Jere Hutcheson FOUR TEMPERAMENTS, CONCERTO FOR TROMBONE AND SMALL ORCHESTRA Trombone solo, fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, tba, pno, perc, strings
Jere Hutcheson Games solo cl. in B flar, picc., fls. 1-2-3, obs 1-2, E hn, bns 1-2, C bn., alto saxex 1-2, tenor sax, bar. sax, tpts 1-2-3, hns. 1-2, tbns 1-2-3, euph., tuba, perc 1-2-3-4-5
Jere Hutcheson Glasses Annotations snd an Exegesis Upon a Theme of Pietro Locatelli Violin and Piano
Jere Hutcheson GOOD OLD-FASHIONED TRIO, A vln, vc, pf
Jere Hutcheson Gradus ad Parnassum, Caricatures IV Symphony band
Jere Hutcheson METAPHORS orch(3/pic-2-eh-3-2, 4-3-3-1,2perc,timp,cel,str
Jere Hutcheson Midnight Voyage 2/pic 2 2/bscl 2+cbsn, 4 3 2+bstbn 1 cel perc(4) strings, narr
Jere Hutcheson MIST OF TEARS SATB, piano

Additional Works

Music with MC CLAREN PUBLICATIONS

CARICATURES 3
Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Symphony
Concerto for Solo Percussion and Winds
Desert Flowers