Relevant Tones

Епизоди

• Peter Askim and the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists Part II 01.06.2026 53мин

  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 audiences with contemporary music. He also reflects on the evolving role of orchestras in the 21st century and the future of new music.MUSICEchoes From Our Digital World by Trevor NewTiled Fields by James BudinichBeacons for Chamber Orchestra by Ahmed Al AbacaEpisodes by Chris Boardman
• Peter Askim and the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists Part I 11.05.2026 1ч

  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 music, Askim shares his vision for the future of the orchestra and the artists shaping it.This is the first in a two-part episode. MUSICThe Raw Heart of the Spinning World by Peter AskimThe Inheritors Overture by Allison Loggins HullNowruz for Orchestra by Adeliia FaizullinaSinfonietta of Dreams movement III: There by Jeff ScottWebbings and Circles by Nahre Sol
• Brent Michael Davids - American Requiem 20.04.2026 1ч 1мин

  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 resilience: “We Are Still Here.”We also feature a selection of Davids’s music, offering a deeper window into his singular artistic voice and lifelong mission to center Native perspectives in contemporary classical music.
• In Memorium: Bernard Rands 06.03.2026 58мин

  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 language, creative process, and the ideas that have shaped his workProduced by Sarah Zwinklis
• Notable Albums of 2025 29.12.2025 1ч 3мин

  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 LuGroung (Crane) by Mary KouyoumdijianMore Mania by the Dirty ProjectorsThoka by AniimaMoraine Lake by Frank Horvat
• At the World's Edge Festival 30.07.2025 58мин

  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 Salina FisherFour Postcards by Gareth Farr
• Neil Quigley 09.06.2025 1ч 8мин

  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 at his band camp:Set List1. Helga Hölzel ( Neil Quigley ) - Early Impulse Study 1 - St. Mary's Cathedral (1968)2. Kenny Phelan  ( Neil Quigley ) - A Psychogeographic sonification of Fairy Forts located near the banks of the Three Sisters  I, II, III3. Tony Quinn ( Neil Quigley ) - Footing4. Physique -   French Lick, Indiana5. Physique -  Desperate Housewives S04E056. Physique - Wunder-Baum
• Coalescent Quartet 19.05.2025 1ч 6мин

  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 the saxophone quartet in the new classical music chamber zeitgeist and what that means. There is also lovely conversation about the instrument itself and the role it plays in the new classical music world. Please check out the new album and each individual artist, you will not be disappointed!Zack Browning - Unrelenting UniverseChen Yi -  Distance Can't Keep Us Two ApartEmma O’Halloran: Night MusicEvan Williams - Quartet for SaxophonesMartin Bresnick: Mending Time 
• Hot Second 12.05.2025 1ч 4мин

  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 unique aspect of the ensemble is the incredibly vibrant collaboration that occurs between Rebecca and Dylan, to the point where they are writing and improvising their own music in real time.MUSICGabriela Ortiz: "Atlas-Pumas”José Martínez: Instructions for Playing, III, VDylan Feldpausch: “Quartz"Esperanza Spalding, arr. Hot Second: "Formwela 4"
• Laura Strickling 40@40 05.05.2025 53мин

  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 several songs from the album.MUSICEmail to Odessa by Dennis TobenskiPeony by Ed WindelsThanks a Latte by Lori LaitmanThis Ode is Mine by Bess McCraryNot Quite Stars by Juhi BansalLas Palmeras by Reinaldo MoyaSong of Solitude by H. Leslie AdamsWind Carry Me by James Primosch
• On the Radar, April 2025 28.04.2025 1ч 2мин

  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 the fantastic music that comes from the Twin Cities area. If you like what you hear drop a line, we love to hear from our listeners!Music: Physique - Wunder-BaumNeil Quigley -  sketches in reaction to an exhibition, Hesitation and BreathDu Yun - Angel's Bone, Scene I: A Prism, A Video, A FlurryCassandra Miller - Warblework: Swainson’s ThrushHappy Apple - Vanity PlateGabriella Smith - Lost Coast II
• Chiayu Hsu 14.04.2025 1ч 13мин

  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 have been performed by numerous orchestras and chamber groups worldwide. Last year, her solo clarinet piece was featured on Eric Schultz’s album POLYGLOT.Host Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with Chiayu about several works from her catalogue, her musical language, traveling, and more!
• Feedback 07.04.2025 1ч 1мин

  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 interview that Austin had with Paula Mathusen this past summer and listen to how she implements these ideas into her works.We also look at feedback systems that composers create be-it through specific mic and speaker arrangements or internal feedback systems with no-input mixing. 
• Sound of Silent Film 20th Anniversary 31.03.2025 57мин

  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 24.03.2025 1ч

  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 more about this!
• Copland House Part 2 17.03.2025 55мин

  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 House, and educational and community outreach programs.Host Seth Boustead talks with Artistic and Executive Director Michael Boriskin about this incredible legacy.
• Copland House Part 1 10.03.2025 57мин

  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 the Immortality of a Crab by Matthew BrowneTasveer by Reena EsmailWithout Words by Ugay Liliyaentwining by Paul Novak
• Michael Ned Holte: Good Listener 03.03.2025 1ч 6мин

  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 Gaines, Richard Hawkins, Alice Konitz, Shio Kusaka, Caitlin Lonegan, Roy McMakin, Steve Roden, Clarissa Tossin, and Shirley Tse. On today’s episode, Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with Michael about his recent book, Good Listener: Meditations on Music and Pauline Oliveros. This book is a result of a year-long performance of Pauline Oliveros’s Sonic Meditation XXI, which asks the question: “What constitutes your musical universe?”
• Sean Hickey - Sapiens 24.02.2025 1ч 2мин

  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 Hickey about Harari's book and this fascinating new musical release.
• Shara Nova 11.02.2025 57мин

  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, directed by Justin Peck, co-written by Jackie Sibblies Drury with music by Sufjan Stevens, witha live album released on Nonesuch Records.