About Gordon

Professional Bio

Gordon is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, USA currently living in Busan, South Korea. He composes, arranges and orchestrates music in a wide range of styles including electronic, orchestral, ambient, jazz, modern dance, and experimental avant-garde in contexts such as film, multimedia, modern dance and the concert stage. He performs with a gypsy-swing ensemble known as The Three Players (삼인용) as trumpeter and has performed in rock, jazz, avant-garde, experimental improvisation, classical and music theatre productions. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Illinois Wesleyan University, USA) and a Master of Music Composition (Northwestern University, USA). He has taught courses on creativity and music production at Dong-seo University in Busan. His current creative interests include generative, interactive music and sound-reactive animation.

Performance-focused:

Gordon is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, USA currently living in Busan, South Korea. He has performed regularly with as trumpeter in Korea since 2001 and has performed in rock, jazz, avant-garde, experimental improvisation, classical and music theatre productions in Korea, Germany, Russia, Canada, Thailand and the U.S. over the last 45 years. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Illinois Wesleyan University, USA) and a Master of Music Composition (Northwestern University, USA). He has taught courses on creativity and music production at Dong-seo University in Busan. His current creative interests include generative, interactive music and sound-reactive animation. 

고든은 미국 시카고 출신의 작곡가이자 멀티 악기 연주자로 현재 대한민국 부산에 거주하고 있습니다. 2001년부터 한국에서 트럼펫 연주자로 꾸준히 활동해 왔으며, 지난 45년간 한국, 독일, 러시아, 캐나다, 태국, 미국 등지에서 록, 재즈, 아방가르드, 실험적 즉흥 연주, 클래식, 뮤지컬 등 다양한 장르의 음악 공연을 펼쳐왔습니다. 그는 미국 일리노이 웨슬리언 대학교에서 음악 학사 학위를, 미국 노스웨스턴 대학교에서 음악 작곡 석사 학위를 취득했습니다. 부산 동서대학교에서 창의성 및 음악 제작 관련 강의를 진행하기도 했습니다. 현재 그의 주요 창작 활동 분야는 생성형 음악, 인터랙티브 음악, 그리고 사운드 반응형 애니메이션입니다.

origin story

I grew up in a village called Hampshire, IL on the edge of Chicago's gravitational pull. And pull it did. After a music performance/composition liberal arts education I found myself in the city proper, struggling to reconcile internal and external expectations about how my life should go. So I allowed that inertia to sweep me further out.

Initially intending my stay in Korea to be only a year or two, I found the flow of life here to be just the right speed and temperature, and heading in directions beyond even the fantasies of my 20s. So I stayed, rarely encountering resistance to my desired lifestyle, even as it has matured. I found my ideal friend and co-conspirator in Mi-sun Lee. One thing has led to the next in ways that I wouldn't completely attribute to luck, but I certainly have been lucky.

I've had the time, energy and resources available to compose and perform music that I want to make and like, even finding time to explore a variety of extramusical projects, such as art & film. I feel I'm developing as a musician and as a human being. I meet people regularly from all over this amazing planet, of different worldviews and starting points, some passing through, others sticking around. I'm living the life I want and doing new things all the time. I can't say there haven't been difficult times, but Mi-sun and I are growing and learning new ways to navigate life together as it unfolds.

Currently (2024) I'm trying to develop as a collaborator with some fascinating artists in the local community and in Seoul. It's a challenge to relinquish some control over projects, but I am learning much from these incredible people.

home studio 2023