Ethan Hayden is a composer, performer, and author based in Buffalo, NY. He has written music for various performing forces, ranging from solo instruments to large ensembles, often involving electronics. Recent works reflect an ongoing interest in language, phonetics, and sound poetry, as well as large-scale explorations of timbre, resonance, and sonic spectra. His music has been performed at conferences and festivals around the world, most recently at INTIME (Coventry, UK), Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium (Toronto, ON), and June in Buffalo (Buffalo, NY).
In 2008, Ethan graduated from the University of North Texas magna cum laude with B.M.s in Composition and Theory. While at UNT, he was active as a composer and performer, studying composition with Joseph Klein, Andrew May, and David Bithell. He recently received his M.A. in composition from the University at Buffalo, where he studied with Jeffrey Stadelman. Still at UB, Ethan is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), studying with Cort Lippe. In 2015, Ethan joined the Digital Music Production faculty at Buffalo State College.
Ethan is the Associate Director of Wooden Cities, Buffalo-based ensemble seeking to help increase the performance and awareness of contemporary music in the Western New York. As a vocalist, he regularly performs new music, sound poetry, and improvisational works. Recent performances have included pieces by Georges Aperghis, Charles Ives, Steve McCaffery, Kurt Schwitters, and John Zorn. Ethan is also active as a writer and researcher on music, and his book on Sigur Rós's ( ) for the 33⅓ series was published by Bloomsbury in August 2014.