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 created by Dr. Carleen Hutchins, the recipient of four honorary doctorates and a foremost authority on violin acoustics.
The 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 Consort displays a breadth and depth that few traditional groups match and a sound that is truly unique.
Band members play 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.
-- press bio