Garrett Gillingham is a Michigan-born composer living in Michigan. His music has been described as, “compelling and exciting” and having “a very distinct sound world…ranging from pulsing, melodic pandiatonicism to highly detailed, capricious abstraction.”

Gillingham’s works have been commissioned and performed by many acclaimed musicians including Jonathan Brown, John Nichol, Jonathan Nichol, Jason Nichol, Zhihua Tang, Adam Gandolfo, David Cook, and ensembles including Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra, Central Michigan University New Music Ensemble, the Dali Quartet, and the Millikin University Wind Ensemble.

With a love for performing, during the Summer of 2013, Gillingham became a member of Willo Collective, based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Willo is a group of creators/performers that collaborate as individuals in small groups, as well as collectively under the masthead. As a tight-knit group of artists, the collective seeks to make music universally personal via collaboratively inclusive work. “Art from, and for, the community.”

Garrett holds a Bachelor of Individualized Studies in Music Composition from Central Michigan University and a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from Michigan State University. While at CMU, Gillingham studied under his father, David R. Gillingham, and under the tutelage of Jere Hutcheson and Mark Sullivan at MSU. Garrett currently lives in Lansing, Michigan, where he works as a freelance composer/arranger, and as a part-time instructor at Delta College in Michigan.