Thomas Schuttenhelm
Thomas Schuttenhelm
Thomas Schuttenhelm is an American composer, guitarist, and scholar. He serves as the Artistic Director at Network for New Music.[1] Schuttenhelm is recognized for his scholarly work on British composer Michael Tippett and his contemporary compositions that explore conceptual frameworks within 21st-century classical music.
Education
Schuttenhelm holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) and Master of Music (MM) from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, where he currently serves on the faculty.[2] He earned his Bachelor of Music (BM) from the College of Saint Rose.
Career
Academic and scholarly work
Schuttenhelm's research interests encompass American Art Song (with particular emphasis on voice and guitar), British Modern Music, Contemporary American Music, Contemporary Guitar, and Popular Music. He is particularly recognized as a leading scholar of British composer Michael Tippett. His major publications include:
- Creative Development and the Compositional Process in the Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett (Cambridge University Press, 2014)[3]
- Michael Tippett's Fifth String Quartet: A Study in Vision and Revision (Routledge, 2017)[4]
He edited The Selected Letters of Michael Tippett (Faber and Faber, 2005)[5] and contributed to The Cambridge Companion to Michael Tippett (2013)[6] and Benjamin Britten in Context (Cambridge University Press).[7]
Appeared with the Heath Quartet for a Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concert featuring Michael Tippett's String Quartet No. 5.[8]
Fellowships and research positions
Schuttenhelm has received several prestigious fellowships:
- Edison Fellowship at the Sound Archives, British Library, London (2016-2017)
- Fulbright Fellow, Senior Scholar, United Kingdom (2007-2008) at the British Library, London and Cardiff University, Wales
- British Studies Fellowship at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin (2008)
- Research Fellow at The Michael Tippett Office, London, England (2001-2002)
Compositions
Schuttenhelm's compositions exhibit what he describes as "intentional belatedness" and explore post-historical conditions of the 21st century. His works incorporate embodied programs that celebrate musical, literary, poetic, visual, and theatrical influences through allusion and reference.
Notable works
His chamber cycle Quincunx for guitar and strings has been published by Theodore Presser[9] and recorded by Frameworks Records.[10] The work features performances by guitarists Jiji, Gabriele Leite, Trevor Babb, and Jordan Dodson with various string players, including Robert Black from Bang On a Can All-Stars. In 2017, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra's Intermix Series, conducted by Carolyn Kuan, performed Schuttenhelm's composition Whirl at the Hog River Brewing Co. in Hartford, Connecticut.[11] His piece "What the Thunder Said" for the New American Mandolin Ensemble was featured on New England Public Media.[12] Other notable works include Wiegenlied, featured on Aaron Larget-Caplan's album Nights Transfigured,[13] and contributions to the "Empowering Silenced Voices" recording by Chorosynthesis.[14]
Recordings and performances
Schuttenhelm has recorded the guitar music of Tom Johnson[15] and is featured on a Naxos recording of Ken Steen's DĔPO FLUX.[16]
Schuttenhelm has commissioned, premiered, or recorded music by Neely Bruce (The Sacred Guitar), Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis (Snowmelt), TJ Cole (The Insect Shadow Box Display Wall [but if they were alive and not dead]), Eliza Brown (Switch Slides), Ken Steen (efternär), Courtney Bryan (House of Pianos - chamber version), George Tsontakis (Highpoint Mountain), Yoshiaki Onishi (PmuD III), Kinan Abou-afach (Kaleidoscope Dream), Lukas Ligeti (Actaonella), Matthew Kennedy (Figures and Metaphors four constructions for guitars), Jay Fluellen (The Heritage Murals), Agustín Castilla-Ávila (Hurrian Song), Ajibola Rivers (A Voice on the Aging Winds), and Leo Brouwer (The Shaman's Prophecies).
Professional roles
Network for New Music
As Artistic Director of Network for New Music, a Philadelphia-based organization presenting contemporary classical music, Schuttenhelm oversees programming during the organization's 40th anniversary season.
Curatorial work
In December 2024, Schuttenhelm co-curated and wrote the exhibition book for Haplomatics: An Animated Techno-Fantasy by James Sellars and David Hockney, published by Hirmer and held at the New Britain Museum of American Art.[17][18]
Personal life
Schuttenhelm curates "Fretting the Future", an online gallery of contemporary guitar music.
References
- ↑ "Thomas Schuttenhelm".
- ↑ "Thomas Schuttenhelm - Faculty Directory". The Hartt School, University of Hartford. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett: Creative Development and the Compositional Process". The Orchestral Music of Michael Tippett. Music since 1900. Cambridge University Press. 2014. ISBN 978-1-107-00024-7. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) Search this book on
- ↑ "Michael Tippett's Fifth String Quartet". Routledge. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Selected Letters of Michael Tippett".
- ↑ Gloag, Kenneth; Jones, Nicholas, eds. (2013). The Cambridge Companion to Michael Tippett. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CCO9781139135122. ISBN 978-1-139-13512-2. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) Search this book on
- ↑ "Contents". Benjamin Britten in Context. Composers in Context. Cambridge University Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-108-49669-8. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) Search this book on
- ↑ Dobrin, Peter (November 19, 2018). "Heath Quartet's brilliant Philadelphia debut could (and should) spark a Michael Tippett revival". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved {{subst:CURRENTDATE}}. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Schuttenhelm Works". Theodore Presser. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Quincunx - Digital Download". Frameworks Records. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Bach, Brahms, Beethoven and beer at Hog River". Hartford Courant. November 11, 2017. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "A Hartford composer creates the old-fashioned way". New England Public Media. April 20, 2018. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Nights Transfigured". Aaron Larget-Caplan. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Empowering Silenced Voices Album". Chorosynthesis. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "The Guitar Music of Tom Johnson". Internet Archive. 2012. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "DĔPO FLUX". Naxos Records. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Thomas Schuttenhelm". Hirmer Verlag. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Lecture and Book Signing: Thomas Schuttenhelm". Hartford Courant. March 2, 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help)
External links
Category:American classical composers Category:American classical guitarists Category:21st-century classical composers Category:Musicologists Category:The Hartt School alumni Category:Fulbright Scholars
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