Composition as a Process of Learning with Han Hitchen

On this episode of music/Maker with Tyler Kline, Tyler is joined by Han Hitchen.

Award-winning composer Han Hitchen writes for a wide range of genres, spanning across various acoustic and electroacoustic settings. His music is informed by his experiences as a queer person, and draws inspiration from socially taboo topics that he hopes to bring attention to, such as menstruation cycles, family discourse, death/mortality, and reproductive rights.

Hitchen graduated with an MM in Composition and Theory from Penn State University, where they studied with Baljinder Singh Sekhon, II and Sarah Genevieve Burghart Rice. During their time at Penn State, he served as Vice President for Living Music, a student organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of music by living composers. He was also a graduate facilitator of the discussion group Beyond the Binary at the Penn State’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

Since Han’s identity is so intrinsic to his creative expression, a significant chunk of this conversation is focused on that. Han also talks about those taboo topics that he explores in his music, as well as the ways he champions marginalized folks within and outside of his music.

Han and his music can be found online at https://hanhitchen.com/.

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