Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman

I really enjoyed this opportunity to speak with Mack Hagood , author of Hush: Media and Sonic Self-Control , to explore how we use sound to manage our minds, moods, and modern lives. From white noise apps and noise-cancelling headphones to tinnitus and sound therapy, Mack helped me understand the complex relationship between media, technology, and the human need to tune in (or out). We discuss the...

Michael Stephen Brown is both a fantastic pianist and composer, and in this episode you’ll be hearing some excerpts from his upcoming album Twelve Blocks , which is a very personal project for him of chamber music and solo piano pieces. You’ll hear the stories and personal connections with each of these works that he’s composed. He shared his experiences at several inspiring arts residencies inclu...

This week’s episode is a personal one for me, since Jennifer Johnson has been helping me gain more ease and comfort in violin playing and living in general. An understanding of Body Mapping will help you whether you play an instrument, sing, or simply go about your daily life. Jennifer Johnson is a violinist, film maker, and the author of several books including “What Every Violnist Needs to Know...

Cherokee singer-songwriter Agalisiga “The Chuj” Mackey shares the story behind his debut country-folk album , created entirely in the Cherokee language with producer Jared Tyler . He discusses language revitalization , the Cherokee syllabary , immersion schools , and the impact of boarding schools . Agalisiga also reflects on Indigenous history , cultural preservation , and his musical influences...

Gaelynn Lea is a violinist, singer-songwriter, disability rights advocate, author, and public speaker. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, Gaelynn began her musical journey with the support of a childhood music teacher and her musical family. You’ll hear about how her big break happened when she won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, which led to a fascinating creative life which in the last fe...

Sam Sadigursky is a renowned clarinetist, composer, and member of the Philip Glass Ensemble. In this episode, we explore his latest project The Solomon Diaries with Nathan Koci, his work on Broadway in The Band’s Visit , and his career spanning jazz, classical, and contemporary music. Sam shares stories from touring with Philip Glass, mentors Brad Mehldau and Lee Konitz, and his upbringing in a mu...

Composer and audio producer Pat McCusker joins me to talk about his work creating music for The Ezra Klein Show , his role at The New York Times , and what it’s like touring the world as a musician with actor David Duchovny. Pat's music also appears on The Daily , Modern Love , and many more. 🎶 What we talk about in this episode: Composing the theme for The Ezra Klein Show Scoring for podcasts an...

I have become a big fan of Ruckus , a dynamic Early Music ensemble , and I so enjoyed this uplifting conversation with Clay Zeller-Townson , their Artistic Director and bassoonist. ou’ll be hearing clips from The Edinburgh Rollick with music from the Niel Gow collection , featuring the violinist Keir GoGwilt , and because this music is very much at the crossroads of Scottish traditional music and...

Join me in getting to know the fascinating world of Leif Karlstrom, a musician and scientist who combines data sonification in his outstanding collaborative exploration, The Volcano Listening Project. Leif is an Earth scientist at the University of Oregon who studies fluid motions in and on volcanoes and glaciers, landscape evolution, and geodynamics. He’s also a fantastic violinist and mandolin p...

Martha Redbone is acclaimed for her powerful performances as a singer, as well as her prize-winning song-writing, composition and arranging. For over 30 years she’s been in a successful collaboration with her partner Aaron Whitby and we talked about some of their new theatrical projects including Black Mountain Women, The Sex Variants of 1941, and Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks . Through...

Tammy Takaishi is a Board Certified Music Therapist , Podcaster and writer based in New York. We talked about her podcast Creative Peacemeal , her meaningful and multi-faceted career as a Music Therapist, and her full creative life including her writing. If music therapy is a career you’re curious about, you’ll be inspired by her stories and insights. As a fellow podcasters, we definitely bonded o...

Welcome to Conversations with Musicians with Leah Roseman with powerful, in-depth conversations with a fascinating diversity of musical guests wordwide. In this moving episode, I sit down with GRAMMY-winning composer Carla Patullo. Carla shares her deeply personal journey as well as audio clips from Nomadica , her gorgeous new album born from grief, healing, and resilience following the traumatic...

Darol Anger is an acoustic music legend known as much for his innovative fiddle style beyond Bluegrass and Jazz traditions, and his teaching. Darol has helped drive the evolution of the contemporary string band through his involvement with numerous pathbreaking ensembles such as the Turtle Island String Quartet, the David Grisman Quintet, and his current touring group Mr Sun. This podcast episode...

Originally released in 2022: Tracy Silverman is truly an inspiring musician in every respect and it was such an honour to meet him and be able to record this memorable episode! This interview is also available as a video; the transcript is also linked on my website We talked about his classical roots, studying with legendary teachers Lewis Kaplan and Ivan Galamian , his rejection of the classical...

This was originally released in 2022. The internationally renowned South African guitarist Derek Gripper is famous for his groundbreaking technique for evoking the West African kora on the guitar. During this episode you’ll get to hear Derek play quite a bit and you will hear his wonderful insights on how we listen to and learn music, the influence of Montessori and Alexander Technique in his life...

I'm re-releasing this episode, because my improvising ensemble Collected Strands have just released our second album, Volume 2, also with beautiful cover art by Maryanne Moodie. This is a special episode of my podcast, celebrating Volume 1 with my improvising ensemble Collected Strands . The other musicians in the group have all been featured previously on this series, and you’ll find the links to...

I’m delighted to welcome Maya Youssef , the world-renowned "Queen of the qanun" and innovative British-Syrian educator .You can also watch on YouTube, and the transcript is linked as well to my website: Maya shares with us how her frustrations with the traditional teaching of Arabic music led her to develop her unique system for teaching musicians and dancers in a completely different way. She als...

The wonderful singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and scholar Lily Henley sings in the endangered language Ladino and during this podcast you’ll hear clips from her album Oras Dezaoradas . Blending her roots in American and Celtic music , Lily creates powerful original music that honours centuries of Sephardic women’s voices. These songs tell timeless stories of love, loss, exile, and resili...

Karen Power is an Irish composer who uses environmental sounds in her intriguing work. She is a master field recordist who has recorded sounds in some of the worlds most isolated and challenging locations including The Arctic, Amazon, and Namib Desert . You'll hear clips of her work including The Bats of Namibia , Frogs of Angor Wat , fascinating bog sounds and arctic ice sounds in collaborations...

Teagan Faran is a remarkable violinist known for her versatility as a performer, composer, and improviser. In this episode, you’ll hear selections from her album Middle Child —a compelling and genre-spanning musical journey featuring works by acclaimed contemporary composers, as well as Tegan’s own reimagining of Brahms’ beloved Intermezzo . A Fulbright grant recipient, Tegan spent nine months in...

I’m joined by the extraordinary Olcay Bayir, a British singer-songwriter of Kurdish Alevi origin, originally from Turkey . Olcay opens up about the challenges of immigrating as a teenager, her classical training in opera, and how she has forged her own unique musical path. You’ll hear clips from her 2024 album Tu Gulî , along with selections from her earlier projects, featuring songs in several la...

Joel Styzens is a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose career as a drummer was transformed due to sudden hearing damage . He talked to me about dealing with the physical and psychological effets of hyper acusis and tinnitus, the beauty of hammered dulcimer , and you’ll hear clips from his first 2 albums Relax Your Ears and Resonance. He’s a music educator who loves to help students to make dis...

Amanda Martinez writes and records mostly in Spanish , the language of her Mexican dad who biked all the way from Mexico to Canada , and you’ll learn how Amanda’s recent album Recuerdo helped her process her grief going through the illness and death of her father. Amanda is also an actor, and you’ll hear about some of her experiences acting, including My Little Pony, Kim’s Convenience and Rosie’s...

Heather Taves is an acclaimed Canadian pianist , also a composer, improviser, educator and writer. She spoke to me about her unique and inspiring Beethoven Journey, her popular weekly blog which she started in 2023 , paired with performances of all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. We talked about getting to know Beethoven as a person and her fascinating research about many women that are part of t...

Archive highlight, originally released in 2023: Renée Yoxon is a trans non-binary singer, songwriter, jazz musician , and trans voice teacher . Renee shares some beautiful and inspiring performances from their albums, as well as stories from life as a disabled person and how their disability and chronic pain has guided the direction of their career. We talk about their musical development, and the...