Bio – IAN GUTHRIE COMPOSER

FULL BIOGRAPHY:

Ian Evans Guthrie, an emerging composer, performer, researcher, and collaborator in instrumental, vocal, and interdisciplinary genres, has received the Mile High Freedom Band 2021 Commission, 1st prize for the Noosa-ISAM and Arcady Composition competitions, 2nd prize for the American Prize, a nomination for an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and other accolades for his compositions. Many of his works have been performed publicly around the world (five continents) by fEARnoMUSIC, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Dakota Valley Symphony, Foothills Philharmonic, Moore Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Offspring, Interlochen Summer Camp, VIPA, highSCORE Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Charlotte New Music Festival, and others. He has served on various committees, including the Society of Composers, Inc., where he served as the Region VI Student Representative from 2015 to 2017 before serving as Assistant Marketer (2018-20) and Marketer (since 2020). His most recent works include the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Coming of the Condor for orchestra, and several other works, with many commissioned solo, chamber, and large ensemble works being released soon.

Guthrie maintains an active piano career, frequently performing his own works and those of other contemporary composers, including Dmitri Tymoczko. He is also an improviser, often combining hits in various genres with his compositional intuition, particularly with dancers and casual audiences. He began accompanying choirs and soloists at nine, and two years later made his first appearance on the Vancouver Seafarer’s Concert. Most recently, he won and 2nd prize in the Great Composers Competition: Music of America and many other top prizes from GCC competitions. He has also won the 2013-14 Oregon MTNA young artist’s competition, the 2014 Brookings-Harbor Friends of Music scholarship, and 1st prize in the college-level OMTA scholarship competition in 2012. In September 2008, he and Mary Stone performed Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with Portland’s Columbia Symphony Orchestra. He has also released three piano improvisation albums, which can be found on your favorite online streaming site.

He also actively researches the music business historically and currently, as well as the relationship between harmony and rhythmic cells. His paper Is Composition Still a Relevant Field for Music Majors? will be featured at the 2025 MMEA Conference. He has also presented papers on The Business With Composers at many SCI conferences (SCI Newsletter, 2015). He has presented his paper Rhythm as Function: Labeling the other progression across North America, as well as worldwide virtually. He is also author of the articles The Supernatural Power of Music and The Eradication of Justice in Sacred Music (both in the Interdisciplinary Journal on Biblical Authority).

Guthrie received his Doctor of Music as a Graduate Teaching Assistant from Florida State University, where he studied composition with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Stephen Montague, Clifton Callender, Mark Wingate, and Ladislav Kubik, and piano with Heidi Louise Williams. He received his Master of Music in Composition/Theory as a Graduate Assistant at Texas Christian University, where he studied composition with Till MacIvor Meyn, Martin Blessinger, and Blaise Ferrandino, and piano with John Owings and Gloria Lin. He received his Bachelor of Music at Marylhurst University, where he studied composition with John F. Paul and piano with Renato Fabbro.

He is currently the Assistant Professor of Music at Calvary University. Previously, he was the accompanist, arranger, and composer for North Kansas City Schools (Kansas City), and is a dance accompanist for the Interlochen Arts Camp. He has also taught at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, and accompanied dance for Florida State University. For more information about Ian Guthrie and his music, please visit ianguthriecomposer.com.

Social media sites:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ianguthriecomposer
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ian.evans.guthrie

SHORT BIO (under 200 words):

Ian Evans Guthrie is a composer, performer, researcher, and collaborator, composing for acoustic and electroacoustic media from soloist through large ensembles. He has received the Mile High Freedom Band 2021 Commission, 1st prize for the Noosa-ISAM and Arcady Composition competitions, 2nd prize for the American Prize, a nomination from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and other accolades. His works have been performed worldwide by the Mile High Freedom Band, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, fEARnoMUSIC, Ensemble Offspring, Interlochen Arts Camp, and others. His works will be featured in upcoming concerts in The Philippines, New York, and elsewhere. His most recent commissions include ones from Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Keum Hwa Cha, and others.

Guthrie maintains an active piano career, and has won 2nd prize in the Great Composers Competition: Music of America and many other awards. Additionally, he is a collaborative pianist for the Interlochen Arts Camp and other organizations.

Guthrie received his DM from Florida State University, where he studied composition with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Stephen Montague, Clifton Callender, Mark Wingate, and Ladislav Kubik. He is an Assistant Professor of Music at Calvary University, and serves on the boards of SCI, NACUSA, and CFAMC. For more information, please visit ianguthriecomposer.com.