Hugh Morris

I’m a freelance writer, editor, copywriter and musician. I grew up in County Durham, before moving to Manchester in 2016. I now live in South London.

I mostly write about music and culture, regularly contributing to The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, The Face, Private Eye, Jazzwise, Bandcamp Daily, and VAN Magazine. I mainly focus on features and interviews, but also write reviews and essays. I’m currently an editor at VAN.

Alongside journalism work, I’m part of Manchester Collective for their 2023-24 season, writing online guides to their programmes. I’ve written programme notes and liner notes for the BBC Proms, the Royal Overseas League, Scottish Ensemble, Sean Shibe, and 12 Ensemble. I’m also a highly adept copywriter across music and cultural projects, and my copywriting clients include Signum Classics, Pentatone, Whirlwind Recordings, Brownswood Recordings, Olympias Music Foundation, KD Schmid, Efpi Records, and Manchester Wire.

Outside of writing, I try to make as much music as I can, as a singer, improviser and trombone player. As a composer, I’ve collaborated with members of London Sinfonietta and Red Note Ensemble, and my work has been performed by Devon Philharmonic Orchestra, Ludlow English Song Festival, Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera, No Dice Collective and The Vonnegut Collective. I graduated from the University of Manchester with First Class (Hons) in Music in July 2019, receiving the Hargreaves Prize for Aesthetics.