Relevant Tones

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

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 From Prophet.

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 next.

Speaking guests include Dr. Anna Tavis (Humans at Work, Kogan Page), Erik Loomis (A History of America in Ten Strikes, The New Press) , Tod Lippy (Esopus Foundation, Ltd)

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Music Performed by:
Black Oak Ensemble
Alicia Walter

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 ever heard by Seattle audiences.

The ensemble “operates at that exciting cusp between old and new, between tradition and innovation” (Vanguard Seattle) curating new sounds and experiences for concert goers in the region.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Jérémy and Julia to discuss the collaborative relationship they’ve forged together, the formation and history of Seattle Modern Orchestra, their bold and barrier-breaking strategies in reaching new audiences and performers, and some of their favorite concerts from the past 14 years. 

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 Matthew and Osnat as they discuss how she went about choosing the music from her catalogue for this album, her inspirations in teaching and composing, and how moving to Chicago and the collaborations that has led to have influenced her music.

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.

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 important when trying to imagine what it is in its entirety.

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 talks with Joachim about the new album and her musical journey.

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 Jazz Journalist Association.

He is also a respected educator and scholar and has been on the faculty of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Deep Springs College, North Central College, and was a fellow at The Center for Black Music Research.

At present Falzone is the Dean of Music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington.

Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Falzone at Cornish’s historic Kerry Hall, where John Cage first began to experiment with the prepared piano, and where Cage met his life partner, renowned dancer Merce Cunningham. They talk about Falzone's life in music, the “crooked line” he’s walked as an artist, bringing to balance the Already and the Not Yet in music-making, Wayfaring’s new album, Intermezzo, and a whole lot more. 

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 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, including Wet Ink Large Ensemble, AMOC*, Talea Ensemble, and Cantata Profana.

Host Stephen Anthony Rawson sits down with Carrie to talk about her new album, Seagrass: Works for Solo Viola. They take a dive into the music and composers featured on the album, as well as the science fiction writings of Arkady Martine, and the violist’s need for a bigger wardrobe.

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, Lise Borel, Denise Ondishko and Kenneth Edge.

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.

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 and Phillippa Cole from each of the lead organizations about this incredibly ambitious festival.

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 contemporary compositional techniques and how they have made their way into a lot of new classical music that is being released today.

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 with access to Arvo Pärt's library.

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 notation.

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.

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 talents and a flute performer and improviser creating brief but memorable improvisations about the beverage. Robin speaks about how it is not just the physical experience of the beverage but the memories and context in which they exist in our heads.

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, Michael Hall is the best friend a composer could have. Austin Williams talks with him about his life in music and features a sample of pieces written for him.

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 Etudes by Will Rowe and Nivea Hair Care Styling Mousse by Jacob TV.

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!

Composer Aleksandra Vrebalov left her native Serbia for San Francisco in 1995 where she was soon commissioned by the Kronos Quartet with whom she has formed a long and fruitful collaboration. Her music ranges from concert music to opera and modern dance and music for film.

She has been commissioned and performed by some of the most innovative musicians working today and her music is energetic, highly personal, multi-faceted and always irresistible. Host Seth Boustead talks with her and features a wide range of pieces.

Holding to the belief that creativity is an elemental part of human nature, composer Rain Worthington has followed her own instinctive path. Self-taught and cross-disciplinary, her creative impulses include concert music and sculptural concepts in search of new spaces for attentive reflection. Host Matthew Dosland talks with her about her fascinating musical journey.

A one page score is where a composer imparts all of the musical information the performers need on a single page. One-page pieces often incorporate graphic elements, written instructions and improvisation from the players. Enjoy this program of one-page pieces curated by Sam Alvarez.

Called a composer of “uncompromising brilliance” by the Washington Post, Michael Hersch is considered among the most gifted composers of his generation whose work has been described by The New York Times as “viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative music ... claustrophobic and exhilarating at once, with moments of sublime beauty nestled inside thickets of dark virtuosity.” 

Host Matthew Dosland talks with him about his music and current projects

The iconic, groundbreaking Kronos Quartet celebrates an incredible 50-year run this year. Host Matthew Dosland talks with founding violinist and Artistic Director David Harrington about the quartet's history and their most recent project 50 For the Future, an unprecedented initiative to commission 50 new works and distribute materials—including scores, recordings, and coaching materials—online for free.

It’s another On the Radar Episode! Austin and Matt take the listeners through some of their recent finds with tunes they have been interested in lately. We have a variety of works ranging from purely electronic to chamber music with some Toy Piano even sprinkled in there. Please enjoy this musical dialogue we have created!

Host Austin Williams talks with Cassie Wieland about the intersection of her classically informed compositional techniques and her newest endeavor into singer songwriter material. Her latest album ‘Birthday Party’under the moniker Vines is a collaboration with the saxophone quartet ~nois.

We discuss this collaboration and how there are a lot of similarities between standard classical composition in the collaboration but the format changed drastically once the recording session began.

We met violist Nathan Sherman at the New Music Dublin festival in April and were excited to learn that he had not one but two albums featuring commissioned music written as companion pieces to works by Luciano Berio.

Host Seth Boustead talks with Sherman and features music from the albums Folk Songs featuring Michelle O'Rourke and Ficino Ensemble and Totemic featuring the Sherman Petcu Duo.

Bassoonist Dana Jessen and composer Taylor Brook team up for a collaborative album length electro-acoustic work, Set, that combines through composed (Songs) and improvised sections.

Much attention in the the composed sections is devoted to an exploration of a range of extended techniques on the bassoon that Jessen has cultivated.

The improvised sections are framed by guidelines and rules that Brook provided and computer improvisation that accompanies the instrumental soloist. In these ways, the boundaries between composer and performer is blurred.

In its 9th year, Texas New Music Ensemble goes big with its inaugural week-long summer music festival (July 10-16). Held at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston: MATCH, the Texas New Music Festival 2023 featured 6 concerts, a film screening, 10 lectures, and included 20 composer participants.

Relevant Tones co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson attended the festival, and had the opportunity to speak with many of the contributing artists. In this two-part episode, we feature their music and insights into new music performance, community building, wellness, and much more.
In this second installment, we will feature Martín Quiroga Jr, executive director of Texas New Music Festival, guest composer Rob Smith, guest conductor Felipe Tristán, and student competition winner Mojgan Misaghi.

9th year, Texas New Music Ensemble goes big with its inaugural week-long summer music festival, held at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston: MATCH.

Relevant Tones co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson attended the festival, and had the opportunity to speak with many of the contributing artists.
Part 1 of this episode highlights Chad Robinson, composer and artistic director of Texas New Music Festival and guest performer artist Meg Griffith.

Expanding on our recent live show Overlooked No More, we are featuring the music of Tui St. George Tucker, a composer who absolutely deserves to be better known. Host Seth Boustead talks with Roger Tréfousse and Robert Jurgrau, both of whom knew Tucker in person, about her life and music.

Raíces Imaginadas (Imagined Roots) presents four works written by Tomás Koljatic, Igor Marques, Felipe Pinto d’Aguiar, and Vicente Atria, performed by the Nuevo Mundo Baroque Orchestra (Chile). The idea was to frame writing for historical instruments in contemporary perspectives; its title alludes to this notion and suggests a music that is speculative, nonexistent, or historically and hypothetically possible, bound to the past by its instrumentation and timbre.

Host Seth Boustead talks with the four composers about this fascinating project and features the music.

Happy Juneteenth! Relevant Tones would like to extend a warm celebration for this day. We are featuring a plethora of new music that has been composed by a variety of Black American composers.

As always, we are excited to share the depth and variety that these different artists and composers bring to their audiences. We hope this setlist is a nice accompaniment to your holiday, please enjoy!

Tina Davidson creates music that stands out for its emotional depth and lyricism. She has been acclaimed for her authentic voice, her “vivid ear for harmony and colors” (New York Times) and her works of “transfigured beauty” (OperaNews).

Join co-host Stephen Anthony Rawson and Tina Davidson as they discuss her music and new memoir Let Your Heart Be Broken: Life and Music from a Classical Composer.

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 the musical community. May she rest well now and may we remember her through her art. 

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 intonation, and the use of electronic accompaniment for the instrument. This is a wide topic that we hope to continue to explore as we learn about more works that have been written for this instrument.

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 explains in the interview how this was a large inspiration for the use of fugue. A large chunk of the program from this concert is also featured on this episode. Please enjoy what the William Ferris Chorale has to offer us and their dedication to new choral music.

Join Austin Williams and Angelica Olstad as they talk about her fourth debut album American. 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 in America and so much more.

Olstad slaps the listeners in the face with nostalgia by using old recordings from her youth including some of the very first recordings of her playing piano. Angelica Olstad opens the conversation for other AAPI individuals for them to have a piece to identify and relate with.

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, including surrealist painter and mystic Remedios Varo, singer-songwriter Judee Sill, journalist, teacher and political activist Jovita Idár, food inventor and war heroine Maria Orosa and the first African-American registered nurse in the United States, Mary Eliza Mahoney.

Each new string quartet was performed live by The Overlook, and host Seth Boustead talked with special guests Amy Padnani, creator of the Overlooked series, filmmaker Vanessa Gould and obituary writer Jacques Kelley in between each performance.

Live from Symphony Space in Manhattan.

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 years.

Join Austin Williams and Chris Windle, Artistic and Music Director of the William Ferris Chorale, as they chat about the ensemble, the music they champion, and this strange intersection that seems to occur between early vocal music and modern, new vocal music.

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.

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 and expanding the possibilities of the instrument.

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 oddly satisfying. 

Host Matthew Dotson chats with him and features an eclectic mix of music.

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, soprano Jocelyn Zelansko and cellist Una O'Riordan.