Connor Simpson is a composer based in Rochester, New York. His work has been featured in numerous international music festivals such as the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Longy’s Divergent Studio, the Charlotte New Music Festival, and soundSCAPE New Music Festival. He has written works for acclaimed performers including Mivos Quartet, Hypercube, and Loadbang. Connor received the Creative Achievement Award, the Valley Family Fund, and the Student Engagement Network Grant, honoring and facilitating his academic and professional accomplishments.

Connor’s works span a wide variety of acoustic and electronic genres and styles, including works for soloist to large ensemble, and fixed media to live electronics. His research includes traditional and modern methods of composition including serialism, abstract mathematics, and computer-assisted composition. His work often explores themes including mental health, intertextuality, and the canon.

Connor is an active educator, teaching private composition and music theory lessons. With his studio, he focuses on career and portfolio building for academic and career-oriented composers. He has also served as composition coordinator at Penn State’s Honors Music Institute, teaching lessons and presenting topics including orchestration and music history.

As a composer and recording engineer, Connor is active in the field of electronic music. While a studio engineer at Penn State, he led recording sessions of both live and studio recordings of student and professional composers. In his own electronic music, Connor explores techniques and concepts such as live sound processing, spatialization, and microtonality using software including Pure Data, Max/MSP, and Open Music. His interests also include computer-assisted composition, using concepts from discrete mathematics and algorithmic music to create musical structures and forms using software such as Python, Open Music, and Mathematica.

Recently, Connor completed his B.M. in Music Composition with Dr. Baljinder Sekhon and Dr. Sarah Genevieve Burghart Rice at Penn State University. At Penn State, he received numerous academic awards and recognitions, including the Creative Achievement Award, the Burt L. Fenner Scholarship in Music Composition, the W & L Leight Memorial Fund, and the Francis G. Wood Memorial Scholarship. Connor served Penn State as a panelist on the Living Music Biennial International New Music Festival and the Annual Ballora-Wang Young Composers Award. Connor also served as treasurer and secretary for Living Music, a composers’ organization curating events such as a guest lecturer series, a radio show on The Lion 90.7FM, and the Biennial New Music Festival and Symposium. These events have featured renowned artists including Mivos Quartet, Loadbang Ensemble, Jessie Montgomery, and Jenna Lyle. Connor is currently pursuing his M.A. at the Eastman School of Music.