Quinn Gutman, composition | Graduate Student Recital

The Misperception (2020) Music by Quinn Gutman (1993-), Libretto by Quinn Gutman, Kristen Marion (1995-) and Cortlin Presley (1993-)

The Date (2021) Music and Libretto by Quinn Gutman

Epilogue (2021) Music and Libretto by Quinn Gutman
Each of the 3 operas follows four queers navigating their dating lives.

The first opera “The Misperception” is about two women, Idina and Tasha, in a relationship. One of them knew that they were romantic while the other is convinced that they were just friends.

The second opera “The Date” is about two queers, Asher and Billie, who meet on a dating app and are now going on their first in-person date. Both of them are very nervous. For one of them, that manifests in talking to much, and for the other not knowing how to interact.

In the third opera “Epilogue,” it is revealed that Tasha and Billie are roommates and they both go home and talk about their previous experiences.

Quinn Gutman is a nonbinary soprano and composer striving to share stories and experiences through their music and other art forms.

Quinn mainly writes for voice, especially art song and opera. Their most recent vocal work, Wanting is a series of 3 mini operas about queer dating and relationships. Recently, they wrote Come Along, a trumpet trio for Ensemble Uncaged portraying 3 individuals first acting as a unit and then one moves on to their own separate interest while the two stay behind. Last summer, they wrote Can We Stop This Already? is a wind quintet filled with lots of slapstick humor in both the music and in movement made by the performers. They’re currently working on a piece for Transient Canvas to be premiered in June 2021. Quinn has written music for leading ensembles including Quorum Boston, Mivos Quartet, EnsembleNewSRQ, the JACK Quartet, SŌPercussion, and Yarn/Wire.

Quinn’s most famous work as a composer-performer piece is their A Cappella Arias, a collection of song settings from various poets (including Quinn themself) all sung a cappella. The most recent performance was in Homeward Bound: Songs from the Heartland. The songs from the series performed include “The Thing About Cats”, set from John L’Heureux, “Talk,” set from D. H. Lawrence, and “Letter,” set from Amy Lowell. They’re hoping to write enough of these songs to make an album and a book of, so that more singers other than them can sing these songs. Last fall, they wrote their first one-person show You Know Who You Are about their experiences coming out as nonbinary. They’ve been a part of many premieres of their work, including The Akosta Cats, Warbler Woman, and Tesla in Love.

As a singer, Quinn Gutman specializes in contemporary music, experimental/improvisatory music, and extended vocal techniques. They want to normalize performing contemporary music and music that is not performed often. In September, they performed their recital Correspondence: An Evening of Influential Letters, where each work is set from a letter, telling a story. Some works on the recital include Songs from Letters: Calamity Jane to her Daughter Janey by Libby Larson, King Herald’s Saga by Judith Weir, and Divozione by Virgilio Mortari.

Quinn holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music where they studied with Lewis Nielson and Josh Levine. They are currently pursuing a double masters in Vocal Performance and Composition at the Longy School of Music studying composition with Kate Pukinskis, Aaron Helgeson and Amy Beth Kirsten and voice with Corrine Byrne and Jeffrey Gavott.