Relevant Tones
Relevant Tones is a podcast about contemporary classical music, featuring interviews with and music by some of the most creative figures in the field. The show explores new trends in classical music and includes live streamed episodes with conversations and performances. It is hosted and produced by Seth Boustead, Austin Williams, Stephen Anthony Rawson, and Matt Dotson.
Episodes
Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival
The Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival is an ambitious summer program that brings together young string players to work intensively with leading professionals while performing throughout Colchester and the surrounding communities. For the past four years, the festival has also championed new music through its annual Call for Scores. On this episode of Relevant Tones, Seth Boustead talks with Ar
Cristina Spinei - Moved by An Interior Impulse
Best known for her acclaimed work with ballet companies across the country, Cristina Spinei has developed a distinctive musical language built on melodic cells, propulsive rhythms and subtle repetition which she affectionately describes as "minimalish." Host Seth Boustead talks with Spinei about her new album, Moved by an Interior Impulse, her long collaboration with choreographers, and
Third Place Music Festival
On this episode of Relevant Tones we highlight Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Third Place [MusicFest] as they celebrate their 7th year. Third Place curates an annual, four day performing arts festival comprised of multiple concerts in local spaces. They are founded on principles both simple and often overlooked: that concerts should be radically welcoming, accessible, and inclusive.Host Stephen Anthony Raw
Peter Askim and the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists Part II
In the second half of our conversation with conductor, composer and producer Peter Askim, we take a deeper look at his efforts to champion living composers through initiatives like the NC State 10-Year Premiere Project. Askim discusses the importance of creating opportunities for emerging voices, building lasting relationships between composers and performers, and finding new ways to connect audie
Peter Askim and the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists Part I
Composer, conductor, and producer Peter Askim joins Seth Boustead to discuss building vibrant communities around contemporary classical music through the NC State 10-Year Premiere Project, the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists, and his work with orchestras across North Carolina.From commissioning dozens of World Premieres to mentoring emerging composers and reimagining how audiences experience new
Brent Michael Davids - American Requiem
Composer Brent Michael Davids discusses his powerful new work Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People—a sweeping musical reckoning with the genocidal foundations of the United States, told through Indigenous voices. Blending Native American musical traditions with orchestral forces, the piece confronts history through texts both personal and political, culminating in a message of res
In Memorium: Bernard Rands
Esteemed composer Bernard Rands has passed away, a huge loss to our musical community. We honor his memory by re-airing this interview with host Seth Boustead from September 2017.Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Bernard Rands reflects on a remarkable career spanning more than a hundred published works and recordings. In this conversation with Relevant Tones, he shares insights into his musical lang
Notable Albums of 2025
Relevant Tones returns after our hiatus to bring you some of our favorite albums (and concerts) of the year. It was a great year for music! Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.MUSICFor Adrienne I by Martin GendelmanWhat Stories We Tell by George HurdStudy No. 1 by Jessie MontgomeryYanga by Gabriela OrtizAt Which Point No. 1: Prologue by Wang LuGroun
At the World's Edge Festival
At the World’s Edge is a chamber music festival inspired by its roots in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and forging ties to Chicago and beyond. Host Seth Boustead talks with violinist and founding Artistic Director Benjamin Baker about his vision for the festival and features music the festival has commissioned. MUSICYabo by Salina FisherString Trio No. 2 by Huw Watkins (excerpt)Mata Au by Salin
Neil Quigley
Host Austin Williams and composer guest Neil Quigley chat about Neil’s music and its relationship to speculative history.Neil explains how his relationship to the Kilkenny Electroacoustic Research Laboratory is largely based in that practice. Among many other projects Neil created this love letter to his hometown and lans to wrap up the anthology in the coming year or so. Check more of Neil’s work
Coalescent Quartet
Join host Austin Williams as he speaks to members of the Coalescent Saxophone Quartet. The quartet consists of members Nathan Bogert, Michael Shults, Nick Zoulek, and Drew Whiting; each of which are incredibly accomplished musicians in their own right. The quartet has recently released a new album (The Wall Between Us) of works for sax quartet. Austin asks the ensemble questions about codifying th
Hot Second
Join host Austin Williams and new music ensemble Hot Second ( Rebecca McDaniel Percussion and Dylan Feldpausch Violin/Viola) as we discuss their unique ensemble and its take on new music in Chicago.The conversation consists of thoughtful insights on how an ensemble can think outside of the traditional cannon and use influences from pop and other styles to help shape the sound they work with. A uni
Laura Strickling 40@40
2023 and the first anthology has just been published by New Music Shelf. This extraordinary album features world-premiere recordings of art songs commissioned by Strickling who says: "These twenty songs, from composers and poets of diverse backgrounds, are exceptional in their beauty, depth, quality, and range of emotional expression."Host Seth Boustead talks with Strickling and features
On the Radar, April 2025
Cohosts Austin Williams and Stephen Rawson share what they have been listening to recently. Austin shares about an anthology of Irish Electroacoustic music that he became privy to recently and Stephen has a wide variety of vocal and chamber music that comes up. Stephen and Austin also reminisce about their time they shared as music students in undergrad along with their hometown pride of some of t
Chiayu Hsu
Chiayu Hsu is an active composer of contemporary concert music and associate professor of composition at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Born in Banciao, Taiwan, Chiayu frequently explores ideas of cultural fusion. She derives inspiration from places, poems, myths, and images. Particularly, the combination of Chinese elements and western techniques is a hallmark of her music.Chiayu’s works
Feedback
Host Austin Williams curates a listening experience with themes of feedback. Feedback is often associated with harsh sounds that are created when a microphone is placed too close to the speaker that it is amplified through.While this is a way feedback can be aurally achieved there are many ways composers implement feedback and other broad strokes of recursion into their works! We cut back to an in
Sound of Silent Film 20th Anniversary
Access Contemporary Music's popular Sound of Silent Film Festival celebrates twenty years of presenting modern silent films with newly commissioned scores performed live. Host Seth Boustead features a few of his favorite scores from the last twenty years.
Kinetics
Host Austin Williams has guest Liam Marchant on the show to discuss the relationship to kinetics and music, relating to a variety of aspects within the music. We use specific pieces to make points across the show to offer aural guides to the listeners for what Austin and Liam are discussing. It’s a broad topic with even more details than we can cover in an hour, we’ll certainly be back to chat mor
Copland House Part 2
Copland House is a major force in contemporary American music dedicated to fostering greater public awareness and appreciation of our nation’s composers and their work in all of its many forms.Copland House continues Aaron Copland’s incredible legacy of supporting his fellow composers and their work includes composer residencies, performances and recordings by resident ensemble Music From Copland
Copland House Part 1
Copland House is a major force in contemporary American music dedicated to fostering greater public awareness and appreciation of our nation’s composers and their work in all of its many forms.Host Seth Boustead talks with Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin about this incredible legacy. Featured music includes Quartet for Piano and Strings, mvmt 2 Allegro Giusto by Aaron CoplandOn th
Michael Ned Holte: Good Listener
Michael Ned Holte is a writer, independent curator, and educator based in Los Angeles, as well as the Associate Dean for the School of Arts at CalArts.He has held exhibitions at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House, and the Hammer Museum, to name only a few. He has also written monographic essays on artists including Charles Gai
Sean Hickey - Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari’s breathtakingly expansive book Sapiens is a monumental achievement that comprehensively summarizes human history, behavior and thought from primordial times to today.The book is also the inspiration for a 50-minute piano work by composer Sean Hickey recorded by pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev on Sono Luminus records and available on March 14, 2025. Host Seth Boustead talks with Hick
Shara Nova
Shara Nova is a composer, vocalist, and producer currently creating from Detroit, Michigan. Shara has released six albums under the monikerMy Brightest Diamond and has composed works for The Crossing, Conspirare, yMusic, Brooklyn Rider, Roomful of Teeth, Aarhus Symfoni, and American Composers Orchestra among many others. In 2024 she starred in the Tony Award Winning musical “Illinoise” on Broadway
Speaking Instrumentalist
Host Seth Boustead features a variety of pieces by composers who ask the performers to vocalize in some way while also playing their instrument.
Music by Frederick Rzewski, George Crumb, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Tom Johnson.
Songs About Buildings and Moods Season Two
Access Contemporary Music has just released the second season of their PBS series Songs About Buildings and Moods in which they commission music inspired by historically and culturally relevant buildings and film a performance of the piece in the building that inspired it.
Host Seth Boustead features new pieces by Liza Sobel Crane, Ledah Finck, Michael Kropf, Amy Wurtz, Felipe Perez Santiago and
Notable Albums of 2024
We feature music from some of our favorite albums of 2024. Music selected by Austin Williams, Stephen Anthony Rawson, Neve Jahn and Matthew Dosland.
Wedge
Wedge: Moments of growth and Decay. Join host Austin Williams as he discusses a variety of works that are heavily influenced by shape. Shape is a very simple concept in composition, but how far do composers take it?
We will take a deep dive into works that use it to influence motif and melodic lines, form, and overall structure of works. The power of taking a simple concept and expanding it to al
Granular: Parts of the Many Make the Whole
Join host Austin Williams and we discuss how the concept of granulation finds its ay into many new and old(er) works of music. Granular activities are something we all experience on. Human level, the sums of man creating the whole.
This broad topic can be applied in very specific ways such as granular synthesis or the deconstruction of an idea that will lead to the parts being reassembled in a ne
Roberta Michel
Brooklyn-based flutist Roberta Michel is dedicated to the music of our time. She has commissioned and premiered hundreds of new works and has worked with many notable composers of our day.
Roberta is the flutist and Co-Director of Wavefield Ensemble and is a member of PinkNoise and Duo RoMi.
Roberta's debut solo flute album, Hush, was released on November 1st with New Focus Recordings. Host Stephe
Alarm Will Sound
Alarm Will Sound is a ground-breaking 20-member chamber orchestra that challenges and reshapes musical conventions through performances of music by today's composers.
Artistic Director Alan Pierson talks with Seth Boustead about 25 years of music-making with Alarm Will Sound and their latest recording: Land of Winter by Donnacha Dennehy.
On the Radar November 2024
The latest in our recurring feature On the Radar features new music currently top of mind for hosts Austin Williams, Neve Jahn, Stephen Rawson and Matthew Dosland.
Featuring music by Dakn, Kinan Abou-Afach, Laurie Anderson, Dai Fujikura and Peni Candra Rini.
Tobias Picker
Tobias Picker is a celebrated American composer of operas and orchestral music called by BBC magazine "one of the most consistently interesting among the present generation of US theatre composers."
Seth Boustead talks with him about three of his seminal operas, Awakenings, Lili Elbe and Fantastic Mr. Fox.
RT Live: The Power of Babel
In this live taping of Access Contemporary Music’s award-winning podcast Relevant Tones we'll talk with John McWhorter about the development of language and perform several new pieces of music inspired by and incorporating language and created especially for this evening.
McWhorter teaches linguistics, philosophy, and music history at Columbia University, and writes for the New York Times on langu
Reiko Futing
Host Austin Williams speaks with composer and theorist Reiko Futing about his latest album brokenSong. Austin and Dr. Futing had some pointed conversation regarding post modern thought and the use of existing materials. You may even hear Austin's brain expanding as Dr. Futing imbues some incredibly powerful knowledge regarding his process and compositions. Congrats to Dr. Futing on the success of
Bonnie Whiting
Bonnie Whiting is a percussionist, composer, and educator based in Seattle. She's the Chair of Percussion Studies at the University of Washington and the Co-Artistic Director of the Seattle Modern Orchestra. In her work, she seeks out projects involving the speaking percussionist, non-traditional notation, improvisation, and interdisciplinary performance.
Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Bonn
ETHEL
Established in New York City in 1998, the string quartet ETHEL has been described as “indefatigable and eclectic” (The New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (The New Yorker). Composer performers—Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Corin Lee (violin)—fuse uptown panache with downtown genre mashup. ETHEL has performed across the United States and worldwide; release
Thirsty Ears Festival 2024
Access Contemporary Music's Thirsty Ears Festival is Chicago's only classical music street festival. For two days we close Wilson Ave. in front of our music school for stellar music performances, craft beer and wine, food trucks and community vendors. We feature a small sample of the contemporary music performed on this year's festival.
David Crowell
Composer, improviser, and producer David Crowell speaks with host Austin Williams about their new album Point/Cloud. This post minimalist gem explores collaborations with a variety of arts that David has worked with previously. "...the work’s pointillistic texture and thick counterpoint, amassing over time into “clouds” of sound.
Erin Rogers
Erin Rogers is a saxophonist, composer, and improviser dedicated to new and experimental music. Her “decidedly future-oriented” music has been described as “whimsical, theatrical” (Brooklyn Vegan), “radical and refreshing” (Vital Weekly) and “a richly expressive display of stentorian brilliance” (The Wire Magazine).
Her work ranges from chamber music performance to solo experimental improvisation
Elori Saxl
Austin and Elori speak about Elori’s recently release Drifts and Surfaces. This sparks a lively conversation about signal processing, compositional process and the majestic and powerful force that is the Northern Shore of Minnesota.
SPLICE Festival Part 2
It’s part two of our coverage of SPLICE institute 10. Host Austin Williams chats with a number of organizers about the festival and it’s history along with some featured guest artists and regular faculty.
Enjoy recordings and performances from a number of these organizers and faculty as well. We hope you enjoyed this two part series on SPLICE. It was truly a joy and pleasure to get to know and und
SPLICE Festival Part 1
Join host Austin Gray Williams on this deep dive into the people, music, and culture that create the SPLICE Institute. SPLICE is a week long intensive focusing on electroacoustic concert music.
There are a number of Electroacoustic music festivals and conferences that composers have participated in the past, namely SEAMUS and EMM. SPLICE is here to shake things up. From the beginning with composer
Zafraan Ensemble Berlin Creations Part 2
In a series of ten chamber concerts, the Zafraan Ensemble relates the history of Berlin from the 1910s to today through music. Each concert represents a decade, in which a work that premiered in Berlin anchors a program of music centered in or inspired by that decade. Host Seth Boustead talks with pianist Clemens Hund-Goeschel and cellist Martin Smith about this fascinating project. Part 2 covers
Zafraan Ensemble - Berlin Creations Part 1
In a series of ten chamber concerts, the Zafraan Ensemble relates the history of Berlin from the 1910s to today through music. Each concert represents a decade, in which a work that premiered in Berlin anchors a program of music centered in or inspired by that decade. Host Seth Boustead talks with pianist Clemens Hund-Goeschel and cellist Martin Smith about this fascinating project. Part 1 covers
Vijay Iyer
Matthew Dosland interviews composer, performer, and teacher Vijay Iyer. They discuss Iyer's early work in music cognition, his courses and teaching methods, as well as his most recent album Trouble.
The conversation also covers the cross-genre nature of Iyer's work and how that has influenced his output through the years.
An Homage to Robert Black
We commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Robert Black on
Relevant Tones. Robert Black was an absolute force in the Double Bass
repertoire and new music. Through interviews with his previous students
and cohorts, Christie Echols, Sean Rubin, Caroline Doane, and Evan
Runyon, we find out he was so much more than a bass player. Robert was
first and foremost a creative, and surrounded him
Human Capital: A Telecollaboration Between Scott Miller, Sam Wells, and Adam Vidiksis
Austin Williams speaks with Same Wells and Adam Vidiksis about their recent collaboration with composer Scott Miller.
Through speaking with Adam and Sam, Austin learned that the process used to create the album was rather strange. All of the tracks that are heard on the album are a result of ‘Zoom Jam Sessions’ where the performers in the height of the lockdown figured out a meaningful way to host
Wayne Horvitz
Wayne Horvitz is the leader and principal composer for a number of groups including The Snowghost Trio, Sweeter Than the Day, the Gravitas Quartet, and The Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble.
He’s also written for groups like the Kronos Quartet, the Seattle Symphony, and he composes music for film. He also owns and operates the club The Royal Room in Seattle’s Columbia City.
Host Stephen Antho
Ian Wilson - Orpheus Down
Composer Ian Wilson's ten-movement piece Orpheus Down is inspired by the story of Orpheus’ journey to the Underworld to bring his lover Eurydice back from the dead.
The myth and its themes of deep and dark inspire fascinating music on a new release featuring bass clarinettist Gareth Davis and double-bassist Dario Calderone, for whom the piece was written.
Gene Pritsker
Composer/guitarist/rapper/Di.J./producer Gene Pritsker has written over 900 compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, electro-acoustic music and songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles.
He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation; an eclectic hip hop-chamber-jazz-rock-etc and he is also the co-director of Composers Concordance, a new music presenting organization wit
Saad Haddad
Saad Haddad is a composer of orchestral, chamber, vocal, and electroacoustic music who achieves a “remarkable fusion of idioms” (New York Times), most notably in his work exploring the disparate qualities inherent in Western art music and Middle Eastern musical tradition
His music delves into that relationship by transferring the performance techniques of traditional Arabic instruments to Western
Ben Lumsdaine
Composer, performer, producer Ben Lumsdaine does it all! Austin and Ben had a lovely chat about their album Murmurations Without End.
While Ben has a strong background in straight ahead jazz playing with some heavy hitters such as John Raymond and Dustin Laurenzi he has invited the cast to develop some compelling minimalistic works.
Austin and Ben end up talking shop for a bit about gear but ulti
Sarah Belle Reid
Host Austin Gray Williams and Sarah Belle Reid dig into Sarah’s multidisciplinary practices of being a composer, improviser, educator, and active member of the modular synthesis community.
While discussing these topics Austin gains insight into what goes on for Sarah’s preparations on improvising a set. Her affinity for deep listening and how that sculpts her way through with improvising and comp
ess whiteley
Multidisciplinary artist and composer ess whiteley sheds some insight on their works and the process they engaged with for the compositions. ess is particularly interested in topics such as memory and the post-internet world we currently live in, often belnding topics togethe to create compelling works of media. ess had some lovely comments about process and the variety of ways it can afflict a wo
On the Radar 5/6/2024
On this episode of On the Radar join Austin and Matt as they discuss some music that has been on their listening for the past couple months!
Matt shares a compelling work by a collective of Greek composers demonstrating noisy yet formally organized music.
Austin speaks largely about the composer Ted Moore his ability to effectively write concert music while also maintaining the ability to improvi
Joo Won Park
Host Austin Williams speaks with composer and sound artist Joo Won Park on a variety of topics related to performance and composition aesthetics and the intersection between them.
Joo Won is an electronic music composer, performer, and programmer. We talk about what makes a laptop orchestra unique and necessary to perform certain types of music.
Joo Won is just as passionate about pedagogy and
Tessa Brinckman
Originally from New Zealand, Tessa Brinckman is an interdisciplinary flutist/composer who has been praised for her “chameleon-like gifts” and “virtuoso elegance” (Gramophone).
Now based in New York City since 2022, she enjoys creating and performing unique work that honors synesthesia, dialect, innate meter and collaboration, often on geo-political themes in a surrealist spirit.
She talks with hos
National Haiku Poetry Day
National Haiku Poetry Day is April 17 and we celebrate it early with a selection of music by composers inspired by this transcendent poetic tradition. Hosted and curated by Stephen Anthony Rawson and Seth Boustead.
Music by Paul Chihara, Libby Larsen, Ursula Mamlok, Lisa Neher, James Falzone, Stephen Melillo, Dai Fujikura, John Cage, Toru Takemitsu
Graham Reynolds
Called “the quintessential modern composer” by the London Independent, Austin, Texas based composer-bandleader-improviser Graham Reynolds records and performs music for film, theater, dance, television, rock clubs, and concert halls with collaborators across a multitude of disciplines.Host Seth Boustead talks with Reynolds about, and features music from, two recent releases: Insectum and Music Fro
Relevant Tones Live: Working
Published 50 years ago this year, Studs Terkel’s seminal book Working (The New Press) is, then and now, a compelling look into the world of jobs and the people who do them.
Relevant Tones celebrated this landmark with a unique evening of new music commissioned by ACM and inspired by Studs alongside a fascinating conversation about how work has changed since his time and where it might be going nex
Erik Fratzke
Multi instrumentalist, composer, and improviser Erik Fratzke blurs the line between jazz, avant grade, classical, and a variety of influences to create an absolute plethora of original musical groups and tunes.
While he plays with heavy hitters such as Dave King, he also has solid roots in the improvised and experimental music of the Minneapolis scene. Erik is always making new projects with a va
Seattle Modern Orchestra
Founded in 2010, Seattle Modern Orchestra (SMO) is the only large ensemble in the Pacific Northwest solely dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Led by co-artistic directors Julia Tai and Jérémy Jolley, SMO commissions and premieres new works from an international lineup of composers, in addition to presenting important pieces from the contemporary repertoire that are rarely if e
Osnat Netzer
This week host Matthew Dosland talks with composer and teacher Osnat Netzer who has just released her first album Dot : Line : Sigh with New Focus Recordings.
From the liner notes of the album: “Though the pieces differ in musical language and aesthetics, they all share the tropes of a punctuated sustain (Dot-Line) and many forms of pitch bends, glissandi, and stylized portamenti (Sigh).”
Join Mat
Frank Horvat
Frank Horvat is "one of the most inventive songwriters to come out of the contemporary scene in Canada." (WholeNote Magazine) This award-winning composer’s music is emotional and intense and explores a wide array of themes from love to the environment, mental health and social justice issues. Hosted by Matthew Dosland.
Noah Jenkins
Join host Austin Williams as he speaks with composer Noah Jenkins about his most recent album release in collaboration with Riley Leitch Without Persistent Environments.
Noah speaks about the importance of space and how it shaped his compositional process for the record. He also speaks deeply about the importance of collaboration and how giving music time to marinade with a performer is terribly
Nathalie Joachim
Grammy-nominated Haitian-American composer, singer and flutist Nathalie Joachim’s work centers an authentic commitment to storytelling and human connectivity while advocating for social change and cultural awareness.
Her latest album Ki moun ou ye, is out now on Nonesuch and New Amsterdam Records. The original songs on this album ponder its title’s question: “Who are you?”
Host Seth Boustead tal
James Falzone
Clarinetist, composer, and improviser James Falzone is an acclaimed member of the international jazz and creative music scenes, a veteran contemporary music lecturer and clinician, and an award-winning composer.
Falzone performs throughout North America and Europe, appears regularly on Downbeat magazine’s Critics’ and Readers’ Polls, and was nominated as the 2011 Clarinetist of the Year by the Ja
On the Radar February 2024
The latest in our recurring feature On the Radar features new music currently top of mind for hosts Austin Williams, Neve Jahn, Stephen Rawson and Matthew Dosland.3
Carrie Frey
Carrie Frey is a New York City-based violist, improviser, and composer who “conjures an inviting warmth that leaves her virtuosity on the margins, placing the focus on her humanity (Bandcamp Daily).”
Frey is the violist of the Rhythm Method and a founding member of string trio Chartreuse and string quartet Desdemona. She has performed with many of New York City’s notable contemporary ensembles, i
Paris Chapters
The 'Paris Chapters' project is centered around new commissions based on works by Irish writers who lived in Paris (James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W.B Yeats etc.) for voice, saxophone and piano.
Host Seth Boustead talks with saxophonist Robert Finegan and soprano Clara Barbier Serrano about this fascinating project which also features pianist Tia Ling.
Music by Rhona Clarke,
Notable Albums of 2023
We feature a small selection of the many incredible albums released this year. Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.
California Festival
The California Festival was a two-week statewide festival celebrating the most innovative and compelling music composed around the world in the last five years.
The festival was spearheaded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony but also included 100 organizations, 140 composers and 180 new works.
Host Lisa Dell talks with Meghan Umber, AJ Benson a
Doug Bielmeier
Doug Bielmeier's recent release Music For Billionaires is full of irony and brings accessibility to the front of the question for new classical music. Host Austin Williams speaks with Doug about the relationship between privilege and accessibility to be able to create art and what that means as an artist. Along the way Doug and Austin also find interesting conversation on the use of contempora
Sophia Jani
Sophia Jani is currently the Composer in Residence for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, the 2023 Musical Artist in Residence at the Arvo Pärt Center, and last year released her first album, Music as a Mirror.
Matthew and Sophia sit down to talk about her upcoming work in Dallas, how a venue is chosen for a new music series, and what it was like to spend four weeks wi
Text-Based Scores
Over the past century, verbal notation has been embraced as a means of composition with abundant possibilities. Varying from the most precise performance instructions to structured social meditation, composers have found unique and highly accessible ways to share their music with words.
Join co-hosts Austin Williams and Stephen Anthony Rawson as they survey a variety of music featuring verbal not
Jackson Greenberg
Jackson Greenberg is an accomplished film composer in LA who has recently released two substantial works of his own artistic volition this past October. Austin and Jackson speak about the process of these works and a little bit of the history behind them and what they mean to him and his past.
Robin Meiksins and her Beers and Flutes Series
Virtuosic flutist Robin Meiksins has a unique series called Beers and Flutes that she has curated over the past couple years. Austin and Robin chat about the series and how it came about. Both individuals are involved in the craft beer community in Chicago and love to showcase the craft and care that a lot of these brewers place in their products.
Robin showcases this appreciation by offering her
Michael Hall
Violist Michael Hall, described by the New Music Connoisseur as “utterly masterful,” and Chamber Music Today as having “superb technique" is a major champion for new music who has commissioned hundreds of composers over the years.
In addition to global concertizing, he's also the Co-Artistic Director and the Director of Educational Programs with the Bandung Philharmonic. Simply put, Mich
Relevant Tones Live: Commercialism in Art
What is art worth and who determines its value?
Join host Seth Boustead and special guests composer Douglas J. Cuomo (operatic adaptation of Doubt; Sex and the City theme), art curator Tod Lippy (Esopus magazine) and filmmaker Juliet Ellis (The Virtues) for a lively discussion of this pertinent topic.
The music performed includes Cuomo's piece A Far Playground for cello and piano, Commercial E
Relevant Tones Celebrates 400 Episodes
We celebrate our 400th episode by revisiting some of our favorite interviews to include new material that didn't make it into the original show. Music and conversation from Annie Gosfield, Felipe Perez Santiago, Mario Lavista, David Harrington and Nick Zoulek.
Viva Relevant Tones!
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