Jason Michael Gerraughty’s musical background began with horn lessons at the age of 9 and involvement in numerous school, local, and regional ensembles. At the age of 13, Gerraughty began studies in conducting and music theory with the director of a community band in his home state of New Hampshire, conducting pieces with the band throughout high school. He became interested in composing at the age of 15, and premieres with school and local ensembles led to attending The Hartt School in 2001, where he studied composition with Ingram Marshall, Robert Carl, and Stephen Gryc. Gerraughty graduated from the Hartt School in 2005, and his work during this time earned him the 2004-2005 Diemente Prize in Composition, awarded by The Hartt School Composition Department.
Gerraughty enjoys collaborating with other artists, from both within the spectrum of music as well as from other disciplines. Gerraughty has collaborated with The Hartford Art School Film Department, collaborating in a "Music Video Project" with students of Gene Gort. His most recent collaboration has been with So Percussion, who played with Gerraughty as a member of the Pacific Rim Gamelan, the University of Oregon’s Balinese gamelan. Gerraughty also has administrative experience in composition, curating several concerts in Hartt’s Public Works series, featuring premieres of new works by student composers. His most recent work as an administrator has been concentrated on his Toy Piano Project, which entailed fundraising, purchasing, and curating a concert of new works for a new 37-key Schoenhut toy piano at the University of Oregon School of Music.
Gerraughty holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition from Hartt, and is currently attending the University of Oregon School of Music, where he is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Composition, studying with Robert Kyr and David Crumb. He has been a participant in several masterclasses with composers such as Michael Daugherty, Zygmunt Krause, Veljo Tormis, and conductor Hirvo Surva. Gerraughty has enjoyed commissions, recordings, and performances from numerous and diverse individuals and ensembles, such as The Pacific Rim Gamelan, The Hartt School’s Contemporary Players and Performance 20/20 programs, The Hartt School Saxophone Department (Carrie Koffman, chair), trumpet player Tim Leopold, soprano Jamie Ratcliffe, Capella Romana, Tartrazine, The Miklos Quartet, The Pacific Rim Gamelan, and So Percussion.
