Relevant Tones

Kaija Saariaho was a force to be reckoned with in the new classical music world: an innovator in so many ways while maintaining the highest musical integrity. From her early work at IRCAM to her operas and the many works she wrote for ensembles large and small, Saariaho developed a distinctly individual voice that was instantly recognizable. We mourn her premature death as it is truly a loss to th...

Join host Austin Williams as we go through selected modern works for the Organ. The organ has  large history in the context of western classical music and the tradition continues with living composers. The instrument offers a vast range of different colors and textures for a composer to explore. In this episode we have examples ranging from traditional, extended techniques, adjustments of intonati...

Join host Austin Williams with guest’s Chris Windle (Artistic Director of Williams Ferris Chorale) and composer Kile Smith as they break down Kile’s newly commissioned work by the ensemble. Kile has a lot to say about the fugal nature of his work and how he approaches this older technique to a modern context. Kile worked with a unique text that heavily juxtaposes the topics of life and death. He e...

Join Austin Williams and Angelica Olstad as they talk about her fourth debut album America n. In this album Olstad explores what it means to be an American as a mixed race Chinese individual that grew up in rural Colorado in the 90’s and now lives in New York City. This album touches on topics ranging from racial discrimination, old music tastes that continue to influence her works, gun violence i...

The New York Times’   Overlooked   series   was introduced on March 8, 2018 for International Women's Day, when they published fifteen obituaries of "overlooked" women, and has since become a hugely successful bi-weekly feature in the paper. As part Relevant Tones: Live,  Access Contemporary Music  has commissioned five composers to write musical portraits of the lives in the series,...

As the William Ferris Chorale enters their 50th Anniversary season, they celebrate the idea of movement. Movement, as an idea, exists throughout music in a myriad of ways: momentum, tempo, change, renewal, phrasing. This season, the celebrated chorus will celebrate this idea of patterns, of detail, of movement – the vision of contemporary vocal music and living composers in Chicago for the last 50...

We celebrate the upcoming Record Store Day by visiting local record stores in Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and New York to see what's in their contemporary classical and avant garde bins. A lot of great music as it turns out. Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matt Dotson, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.

Access Contemporary Music has produced a new video series for PBS that explores the intersection of music and architecture. ACM has commissioned ten pieces inspired by culturally and historically relevant buildings and filmed a performance of the piece in the space that inspired it. They provide context for the performance through interviews that tell the history of the building and how it inspire...

Ben Roidl-Ward is a bassoonist interested in expanding the repertoire and possibilities of his instrument through collaboration, improvisation, and the exploration of unusual instrumental pairings.  Ben’s dedication to working with and advocating for composers of his generation has led him to commission and premiere numerous works featuring the bassoon with the goal of broadening the repertoire an...

Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by  The New York Times , the “irresistible” ( San Francisco Chronicle ) music of Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents. In his music Cuong enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or odd...

Since their founding in 2007 New Music Detroit has produced an annual marathon of new music called Strange Beautiful Music, commissioned new works, presented concerts in major institutions and off-the-beaten path venues alike and generally been an all-around force in adventurous music. Seth Boustead talks with pianist and Creative Director Justin Snyder, co-founder and saxophonist Erik Rönmark, so...

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, DMA is a soprano, improviser, composer, and organizer specializing in contemporary classical music. She is the founder of Quince Ensemble, an all-women contemporary vocal group, and Hasco Duo, an experimental improvisation and songwriting project. She is also a member of and program curator for Ensemble Dal Niente, a Chicago-based chamber orchestra that commissions and perf...

Set against Afghanistan’s volatile history, A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the breathtaking story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women. Brought together under the brutal Taliban rule, the bond between Laila and Mariam leads to unthinkable sacrifices, and ultimately, one family’s survival.  Based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, this story has captured the hearts of millions including...

Suzanne Farrin is a composer and performer of the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument created by the engineer Maurice Martenot in the 1920s as a response to the simultaneous destruction and technological advances of WWI. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times called her first opera, dolce la morte, a work of “shattering honesty.” Her debut recording, Corpo di Terra,&nbsp...

Chicago musician & composer Raquel Gonzalez has spent the last five years as a studio and live musician for various bands throughout the Midwest, often involved in the composing and arranging process. Their composition series, Sonic Creations with a Lyra-8 highlights a synthesized violin sound and duets between the instrument and a Lyra-8 synthesizer. About the album & its process, Gonzale...

Host Austin Williams chats with LoadBang ensemble members Andy Kozar and William Lang about their most recent Premieres concert. This is the 20th volume in this concert series where the ensemble continues to champion new works by composers at all stages of their career. The unique ensemble instrumentation allows for specific writing to showcase each members ability. Together the ensemble creates a...

JUNO Award-winning composer Vivian Fung has a unique talent for combining idiosyncratic textures and styles into large-scale works, reflecting her multicultural background.  Matthew Dotson talks with her about her upcoming opera and new string quartet projects with the Jasper Quartet.

The country's largest chamber music conference was back this year after a three-year hiatus and Relevant Tones was there. One of the highlights of the conference was two days of incredible ensemble showcases at Drom in lower Manhattan. We feature audio recorded live at these showcases from Shouthouse, Interwoven, the Beo String Quartet and the Johnston Brothers plus a piece featuring Lucy Shelton,...

Nina Shekhar is a composer who explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works. Described as “tart and compelling” (New York Times), “vivid” (Washington Post), and “surprises and delights aplenty” (LA Times), her music has been commissioned and performed by numerous leading artists. Since 2021, Shekhar has been the Composer-in-Re...

Clarinetist Thomas Piercy's Tokyo to New York project presents masterpieces from 20th century Japanese avant-garde composers alongside newly commissioned works from New York City composers of today. The result is a fascinating collision of musical worlds.  All of the music featured was performed live in a recent concert at the Martha Graham Dance Studio in New York City by musicians from Rand...

It's that time again!  Our favorite albums from 2022 include Pripyat by Marina Herlop, A Thousand Butterflies by Aftab Darvishi, Ghost Song by Cécile McLorin Salvant, Evergreen by Caroline Shaw and the Attaca Quartet  and What is American by PUBLIquartet.  The music has been chosen by Relevant Tones hosts Austin Williams, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Seth Boustead.&nb...

Welcome to part two of our series with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and their work with the Lakota Music Project. Today’s episode will largely be about traditional Lakota vocal techniques and incorporating it in the context of the symphony orchestra. Jared Tate is a native Chickasaw composer and pianist who approached David Gier about doing a massive work for orchestra and voice w...

Relevant Tones has the honor and privilege to present this two part series on the music from South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and their Lakota Music Project. This project is a powerful collaboration between native Lakota music and the symphony orchestra. Joined on the interview is Music Director Delta David Gier and special soloist Bryan Akipa. Bryan Akipa is a specialist in the natural wood flute...

For over a century, Japanese mandolin orchestras and clubs have been performing and commissioning music, broadening the instrument’s repertoire and genres with diverse artistic voices. Join host Stephen Anthony Rawson as we listen to a sample of music by Yasuo Kuwahara, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Yoshinao Kobayashi, and more!

Regina Harris Baiocchi is a prolific and highly accomplished composer, poet, author and educator.  At home in seemingly any musical genre, her music has been performed by classical ensembles like the Chicago and Detroit Symphonies, on jazz festivals, sacred music festivals and everywhere in between.