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B i o g r a p h y

Devon is in no particular order: a queer non-binary Pittsburgh based NY born shakuhachi player, composer, improviser, cat lover, electronics lover, failed orchestral bassoonist, partner to Kanoko, amateur cook, and self taught visual artist.

My music draws influence from my Japanese roots, experiences as a jeweler and painter, improvisations with plants, and studies of gagaku and hogaku. My music focuses on rhythmic and timbral transmutation of cyclical materials as a way of reflecting on my past. My compositions have been performed in the US, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan. I have presented my research on global art music at conferences and universities in the US, Europe, and Japan. My research on contemporary Japanese music has been published in the Czech peer reviewed journal Ziva Hubda, and my flute works are published by Tetractys publishing in the UK.  

My awards include the 2015-16 Listhus Ses Skammdegi AIR Award (Iceland), and Rarescale’s 10th Anniversary Composition Competition (student category UK 2013). I have received commissions from ensembles such as Kamratōn (Pittsburgh, PA), the Thin Edge New Music Collective (Toronto Canada), and the Oh My Ears! Festival (Phoenix, AZ). They have been an artist in residence at Leveld Kunstnartun (Ål, Norway), Listhús AiR (Olafsfjördur, Iceland), and La Pantographe (Moutier, Switzerland). I have also participated in festivals such as the Sävellyspaja Summer Masterclass (Finland), Imani Woodwinds Chamber Music Festival, soundSCAPE Festival (Italy), Bowdoin International Music Festival, Valencia International Performance Academy (Spain), Atlantic Music Festival, and has performed at festivals such as 24 Hour Drone at the Hudson Basilica, the International Shakuhachi Festival Prague, and the Oh My Ears! Festival in Phoenix Arizona. I have performed with the Harry Partch Ensemble at Montclair State University, at the Institute for Medieval Japanese Music at Columbia University, and the University of Pittsburgh Gamelan Ensemble.

Ever in search of new sounds, I have also collaborated with microtonal specialists Kjell Tore Innervik (quartertone percussion), Daniel Paulsen (quartertone percussion), Veli Kujala (quartertone accordion), Rarescale’s Carla Rees, Gavin Stewart (Kingma System flutes), and Tolgahan Cogulu (microtonal guitar). Other noteworthy collaborations include work with Reigakusha Ensemble’s Hitomi Nakamura, Korean multi-instrumentalist and improviser gamin (Yisuja, Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 46, South Korea), pianist Kate Halsall, clarinetist/composer Gleb Kanasevich, shô player/composer Chatori Shimizu, violin duo String Noise,  composer Victoria Cheah, TAK Ensemble, oboist Sabine Kaselow, oboist Alison Lowell, Canada's Thin Edge New Music Collective, the Sudbury Guitar Trio, Finland's MikroEnsemble, the Cochlea Duo, members of Pittsburgh based ensemble Kamraton, Pittsburgh based film maker and multi-media aritist David Bernabo, and members of Avanti! Chamber Orchestra.

As an improvisor, I have collaborated with Stringnoise DuoPaul Miller, David Bernabo, composer Brian Riordan, composer Lu-han Li, composer/trombonist Jason Belcher, composer/pianist Mark Micchelli, composer/vocalist Mai Khôi, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jay Rauch, visual artist Qixin Zhang, and others. Tipp has also collaborated with San Francisco based artist Judy Shintani, Astrophysicist Carles Badenes and Particle Physicist Sergey Frolov.

I received my Bachelor’s in Music from Montclair State University in bassoon performance and composition, M.A., and  Ph.D. in music composition and theory at the University of Pittsburgh. They studied composition with Mathew RosenblumMarcos BalterEric MoeAmy WilliamsElizabeth Brown, and Dean Drummond. They are a shakuhachi student of Tokumaru Jumei 徳丸十盟, Ralph Samuelson and Elizabeth Brown.

Photo by Alison Sacriponte.

1991年、ニューヨーク生まれ。ジェンダーノンバイナリー/エックスジェンダー、作曲家・尺八演奏者。現代音楽の作曲方法を研究しており、西洋音楽の理論的な概念と邦楽の概念や哲学を組み合わせたり、融合させ新たな概念を生み出す研究に深い関心がある。自身の日本のルーツ、ジュエリー製作や画家としての経験、電子音が奏でていた植物との即興演奏、そして日本とアメリカで行った雅楽と邦楽の研究より着想を得ている。作品は、オーケストラから、ハチミツをすくう棒でプリペアドされた弦楽、伝統的な日本の楽器のための協奏曲に至るまで、循環的な素材のリズミカルで音色の変容に焦点を当ててる。楽曲はアメリカ、ヨーロッパ、オーストラリア、中国、日本で演奏されている。米モントクレア大学卒業。米ピッツバーグ大学院修士課程を終了し、現在博士課程に在籍。ピッツバーグ在住。

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