Peter Hatch

Hatch, Peter

Hatch, Peter. Composer, administrator, teacher, b Toronto 18 May 1957, B MUS (Toronto) 1980, M MUS (Toronto) 1982, DMA (British Columbia) 1986. He began his studies at University of Toronto as a bassoon performer, but switched to a concentration in composition. He spent the summers of 1978 and 1983 in composer's residencies at the Banff CA and worked 1983-4 at the Simon Fraser University electronic music studio. In the summer of 1988 he attended the Ferienkurse für Neue Musik at Darmstadt, West Germany, where he delivered a lecture entitled 'A talk about time. And syntax in music,' in which he examined his musical aesthetic and his interest in the syntactic structure of Gertrude Stein.

Hatch lectured at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo 1984-5 and began teaching theory and composition at Wilfrid Laurier University in 1985. He became director of the Wilfrid Laurier University Electroacoustic Music Studio in 1987. He was artistic director of The Fifth Stream Festival of Contemporary Music at Wilfrid Laurier in May 1989, and co-edited, with John Beckwith, The Fifth Stream (Toronto 1991). He was president 1985-9 and artistic director beginning in 1985 of Numus Concerts, a Kitchener-Waterloo new music concert series.

Hatch's compositions tend to be scored for smaller ensembles and solo performers. His output reflects his interests in the psychological aspects of time and rhythm, evidenced in his works for percussion, and in the area of computer-assisted composition. Some examples are Pneuma (1987), for free bass accordion and real-time computer music instrument, which was commissioned by Joseph Petric through the OAC and recorded by him on the CD Gems (CONA 3); Reflections on the Atomic Bomb (1989) for ten-piece ensemble, commissioned by the CBC; When Do They Is Not The Same As Why Do They (1988), commissioned as a solo work for percussionist Beverley Johnston; and Festina Lente (1990) for three like melody instruments, a Lawrence Cherney commission through the OAC. Lagtime, an early composition (1983) for solo marimba is probably Hatch's most performed work, and was the winner of a CAPAC prize, a Vancouver New Music Society Prize, and a finalist in the CBC National Radio Competition for Young Composers Hatch is a member of the CLComp and of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community.