The 2011/2012 Season calendar is now online. Click here to read more.
The East Coast tour was a great success, you can read some reviews on our press page.
Closer to home, come see us at one our free family concerts at the Encinitas Library.

The Hutchins Consort

The Hutchins Consort plays on the eight scaled violins of the violin octet designed and built by famed luthier Dr. Carleen Hutchins. The instruments are the first successful attempt to create an acoustically balanced set of instruments that can sound truly like violins across the entire range of written music. With instruments ranging from the tiny treble violin, tuned one octave above the standard violin, to the gigantic large bass violin, tuned one octave lower than a 'cello, the Hutchins Consort produces an astonishing palette of sounds.

Based in Southern California, the Hutchins Consort brings together a group of extraordinary virtuosi to tackle the challenge of adapting the techniques of traditional strings, as well as inventing new techniques, to master the instruments Dr. Hutchins created.

The Hutchins Consort plays music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance to the music of the modern masters. With original compositions and transcriptions commissioned by the Catgut Acoustical Society for the octet of violins, and new transcriptions by members of the Consort, The Hutchins Consort displays a breadth and depth that few traditional groups match, and a sound that is truly unique.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Hutchins Consort is to provide unique musical and educational performances with the eight scaled violins of Dr. Carleen Hutchins, which are the culmination of 500 years of research into the acoustics of violin family instruments; to perform pieces specifically written for this ensemble as well as arrangements of traditional repertory; to demonstrate the distinctions between these and traditional instruments; to facilitate the composition and arrangement of music specifically for the sonic palette that the instruments and their performers create; and to make performances available to a wide and diverse audience.

The Hutchins Consort is a 501(c)3 not for profit organization. Donations to the Hutchins Consort are deductible as allowed by law.