POSTPONED Alum Night: From Commerce to Chronograph Records

Director of programs, National Music Centre; president and program director, YYC Music Awards; vice-president and co-owner, Chronograph Records

With nearly 20 years of experience working in the music industry, Stephanie Hutchinson, BComm’07, is well-versed in many aspects of the Canadian music scene. As director of programs at the National Music Centre in Calgary, she oversees a robust and diverse suite of programming that includes artist and industry incubators, live performance, education, public programming, Indigenous programming and special projects. Previously, she held the role of associate Director, presenting, at Arts Commons, Western Canada’s largest performing arts centre overseeing in-house programming at the Jack Singer Concert Hall and the Engineered Air Theatre. As a co-founder of the Chronograph Records label, she has helped propel the music of primarily jazz, folk and country artists in Western Canada to national and international markets, earning the label’s roster more than 15 major award wins or nominations, including a JUNO Award. And, through her role as a president, producer and program director of the YYC Music Awards, she continues to passionately advocate for Calgary’s diverse music community. She has been recognized with the Cultural Leaders Legacy Arts Award for arts leadership by the mayor of Calgary, was named to Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2023, and was the only Calgary-based nominee for the 2024 Women in Music Canada Honours Changemaker of the Year Award.   

Musician; host of CKUA radio show, A Time For Jazz; president and co-owner, Chronograph Records

One of the most active musicians in Western Canada, double bassist Kodi Hutchinson, BComm’95, is a man who wears many hats. Alongside running his own musical group, the Hutchinson Andrew Trio, along with the CKUA radio show, A Time For Jazz, and record label Chronograph Records, Kodi is a sought-after sideman on both double and electric bass. Described by those who know him as creative, introspective and just a happy-go-lucky guy, Kodi started his career in jazz while attending UCalgary. Shortly after receiving his degree, he followed his true passion and jumped into playing music full-time. After a number of stints at the renowned summer jazz program at The Banff Centre, Kodi has established himself as one of the top call bassists in Alberta. He has worked with several singular artists, as well as the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Theatre Calgary, The Calgary Jazz Orchestra and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. In 2013, the Hutchinson Andrew Trio won the prestigious TD Grand Jazz Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and all four of their albums, Hollow Trees (2017), Prairie Modern (2013), Music Box (2008) and Lost but not Together (2006), were nominated for the Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Jazz or Instrumental Recording. Kodi is a true artist that finds musical inspiration in the simple things — and he channels this inspiration into all his musical endeavours. 

Studio Bell is the first national cultural institution dedicated to celebrating music in Canada in all of its forms. The 160,000-square-foot building designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture is composed of nine subtly curved interlocking towers clad in glazed terra cotta. And, it sounds as good as it looks! Referencing the design of musical instruments, the facility’s open spaces resonate with the sounds of music and activity, drawing visitors up through five floors of acoustically and visually distinct exhibition, performance, and gallery spaces.