Curtis K. Hughes, composer
Curtis K. Hughes (b. 1974) is a Boston-based composer and a graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, and of New England Conservatory (NEC). His primary teachers have included Lee Hyla, Evan Ziporyn and Michael Gandolfi. His orchestral and large ensemble music has been performed by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Conservatory Saxophone Ensemble, and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies. Most recently, a new work for wind ensemble, "Minority Whip," was commissioned and premiered by the Young Artists Wind Ensemble of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, conducted by H. Robert Reynolds. Works of his have also been commissioned and championed by numerous chamber groups, including the Callithumpian Consort, Primary Duo, the Radius Ensemble, the Yesaroun' Duo, Endy Emby, and the Saxophone Quartet of the U.S. Marine Band. Recently, Curtis was awarded the 2005 ASCAP Foundation Leonard Bernstein Composer Fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center, and other accolades have included the Japan Society of Boston's Toru Takemitsu Prize for Composition.
His music has been praised by the New York Times as "fiery," and a performance in 2002 of his orchestral work "Gestations" was praised by the Boston Globe as "colorfully scored," and by New Music Connoisseur as "a most worthy offering." His debut CD, "AVOIDANCE TACTICS," was described by New Music Box as "an emblem to pulling together the wherewithal to do something audacious," and a live version of the title track from the CD was broadcast internationally on WGBH's "Art of the States."
An active member of greater Boston's new music community, Curtis is currently an instructor in music theory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, He has also taught at Brandeis University, and at NEC. He has been a director of NEC's new music concert series, "Tuesday Night New Music," and, with composer David T. Little, is a curator of "NATIONAL INSECURITY," an annual concert of recent politically inspired music. He has also recorded for New World Records with Gamelan Galak Tika and has participated in music festivals including June in Buffalo, the Midwest Composers Symposium, Aspen, and the Composers Conference in Wellesley. In recent years, Curtis's music has been performed in such diverse venues as the Library of Congress in Washington, Ozawa Hall at the Tanglewood Music Center, Elebash Hall at CUNY in New York City, the Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Rotterdam, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Piano Performance (SICPP), NEC's Jordan Hall, the New Gallery Concert Series in Boston's south end, and many others.
Current projects include a new work for the Firebird Ensemble commissioned through a 2005 St. Botolph Club Foundation Grant-in-Aid Award, a double concerto for Primary Duo and the Cornell Chamber Symphony, and a commission from Collage New Music, all to be premiered in 2006. Information is available at www.curtiskhughes.com.
