Dr. Cynthia Hutton Retires, after 26 year Music Career at Southern Oregon University

Associate Professor and Music Department Chair, Dr. Cynthia Hutton will retire this Spring 2020 after 26 years of teaching at SOU. Dr. Hutton’s teaching contributions to the Music program at SOU included teaching courses in music education, music theory, aural skills, conducting, and for 24 years she was the Director of Bands at SOU. During Dr. Hutton’s tenure as the band director, she reinstituted the Raider Pep Band in 1994, added a Commencement Band in 1995, established the annual regional SOU High School Honor Band, took the SOU band on many recruiting trips, visiting high schools throughout Northern California and the Northwest, and lead the SOU Band in conference performances at festivals including the Dr. Lawrence R. Sutherland Wind Festival in Fresno, CA, the Northwestern/Western Regional College Band Director Conference in Reno NV, and Oregon Music Educator’s Conference, in Eugene, OR.

Dr. Hutton reflects that it has been an “intense wild ride. I’ve certainly seen a lot of changes in my time at SOU and earned a few battle scars along the way, but it was a pleasure to work with such outstanding colleagues, students, and guest artists.”

This year also marks Dr. Hutton’s 25th season as music director and conductor of the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon. She has also previously served as Director of Bands at the University of California at San Diego, and she has served as the Assistant Conductor and Horn Instructor of the La Jolla Civic University Orchestra. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

As an Ashland resident and member of the Rogue Valley Symphony, Dr. Hutton isn’t going far when she retires. She looks forward to having more time to practice her horn, attend alphorn and horn conventions, and have time for research. Dr. Hutton will also continue to teach French Horn Lessons at Southern Oregon University as well as conduct the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon.