Brian Hulse
Composer/Theorist
Composer/Theorist
Brian Hulse is a professor of music theory and
composition at the College of William & Mary (since
Fall '06). He's received degrees from the University
of Utah (B.M.), University of Illinois (M.M.), and
Harvard University (Ph.D). He has studied composition
with Mario Davidovsky, Bernard Rands, Martin
Boykan, Salvitore Martirano, and Morris
Rosenzweig. Hulse has written works for chamber
and choral ensembles, as well as several chamber
operas. He has received awards from BMI, ASCAP,
Meet the Composer, Harvard University, and other
organizations. Noted ensembles which have
performed and/or commissioned his music include
Duo46, Speculum Musicae, 20th Century Unlimited,
Empyrean Ensemble, the Rire-Woodbury Dance
Company, the Harvard Glee Club, and the HBO series
"The Sopranos." Hulse was a fellow at the
Wellesley Composers Conference, served as
Composer-in- Residence for Intermezzo: the New
England Chamber Opera Series, and was a Visiting
Composer at Eastern Mediterranean University in
Cyprus. A CD of his music is forthcoming on Albany
Records, featuring Duo46 and pianist Nathanael May.
Hulse's theoretic interests include repetition,
temporality, intuition, Eastern philosophy, and the
writings of Henri Bergson and Gilles Deleuze. He
has published in Perspectives of New Music and the
Dutch Journal of Music Theory and has an article
forthcoming in GAMUT. He has delivered papers in
various scholarly venues on topics such as
repetition, Bergson's concept of the virtual,
Minimalism, tonality, and improvisation. Recent
conference talks were given at the Prince Klaus
Conservatory in the Netherlands, King's College
London, and at the First International Conference
on Minimalism in Bangor, Wales. He is currently
editing a book with Nick Nesbitt (University of
Aberdeen, Scotland) entitled 'Radical Difference:
Deleuzian Perspectives on the Theory and Philosophy
of Music' in which hulse contributes a chapter called
'Thinking Musical Difference.' The book will be
published by Ashgate.
This coming October Hulse will be giving talks at
two conferences: First, a paper entitled 'Of Genre,
System, and Process: Music Theory in a Global
Sonorous Space’ at the University of Music and
Dramatic Arts, Graz, Austria; second 'Divine Ecstasy
in Rhythm & Tone: Some Sonorous Details in the Music
of Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan' at the Society for
Ethnomusicology national conference, Wesleyan
University, CT.
Before landing at William & Mary Hulse held
positions at Wellesley College and Christopher
Newport University. In the summer he directs the
composition program at the Soundscape Festival in
Pavia, Italy. (www.soundscape-pavia.com).
composition at the College of William & Mary (since
Fall '06). He's received degrees from the University
of Utah (B.M.), University of Illinois (M.M.), and
Harvard University (Ph.D). He has studied composition
with Mario Davidovsky, Bernard Rands, Martin
Boykan, Salvitore Martirano, and Morris
Rosenzweig. Hulse has written works for chamber
and choral ensembles, as well as several chamber
operas. He has received awards from BMI, ASCAP,
Meet the Composer, Harvard University, and other
organizations. Noted ensembles which have
performed and/or commissioned his music include
Duo46, Speculum Musicae, 20th Century Unlimited,
Empyrean Ensemble, the Rire-Woodbury Dance
Company, the Harvard Glee Club, and the HBO series
"The Sopranos." Hulse was a fellow at the
Wellesley Composers Conference, served as
Composer-in- Residence for Intermezzo: the New
England Chamber Opera Series, and was a Visiting
Composer at Eastern Mediterranean University in
Cyprus. A CD of his music is forthcoming on Albany
Records, featuring Duo46 and pianist Nathanael May.
Hulse's theoretic interests include repetition,
temporality, intuition, Eastern philosophy, and the
writings of Henri Bergson and Gilles Deleuze. He
has published in Perspectives of New Music and the
Dutch Journal of Music Theory and has an article
forthcoming in GAMUT. He has delivered papers in
various scholarly venues on topics such as
repetition, Bergson's concept of the virtual,
Minimalism, tonality, and improvisation. Recent
conference talks were given at the Prince Klaus
Conservatory in the Netherlands, King's College
London, and at the First International Conference
on Minimalism in Bangor, Wales. He is currently
editing a book with Nick Nesbitt (University of
Aberdeen, Scotland) entitled 'Radical Difference:
Deleuzian Perspectives on the Theory and Philosophy
of Music' in which hulse contributes a chapter called
'Thinking Musical Difference.' The book will be
published by Ashgate.
This coming October Hulse will be giving talks at
two conferences: First, a paper entitled 'Of Genre,
System, and Process: Music Theory in a Global
Sonorous Space’ at the University of Music and
Dramatic Arts, Graz, Austria; second 'Divine Ecstasy
in Rhythm & Tone: Some Sonorous Details in the Music
of Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan' at the Society for
Ethnomusicology national conference, Wesleyan
University, CT.
Before landing at William & Mary Hulse held
positions at Wellesley College and Christopher
Newport University. In the summer he directs the
composition program at the Soundscape Festival in
Pavia, Italy. (www.soundscape-pavia.com).
operascore.com
