Composer's Studio
UnderholdningJoin hosts Anna Linvill, and Tarik Ghiradella for conversations with contemporary composers about music, life, and what’s happening in the genre defying world of classical music today. The Composer’s Studio is a place where living art is made, a place without boundaries where inspiration can come from anywhere from birdsong to heavy metal, Vivaldi to the hum of a vacuum cleaner. Classical composers today are no longer confined to the concert stage or the cathedral but contribute to film scores, television commercials, video game soundtracks and beyond. From graduate students to Grammy winners, this is a classical music show like none you have ever heard. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to join the conversation and find out about upcoming guests and performances.
Siste episoder av Composer's Studio podcast
- Sarah Kirkland Snider: Harmonies of the Soul (01:03:14)
Send us a text In this episode, we explore Snider's unique musical style, her inspirations, and the stories behind her compositions. From ethereal orchestrations to poignant vocal melodies, Snider's music transcends boundaries and touches the depths of the human experience. Tune in as we uncover the essence of her artistry and the intricacies of her creative process. Whether you're a seasoned music aficionado or just discovering Snider's work, this episode promises to be a journey through the...
- Double Vision: Peter Askim and Jeffery Scott (00:33:41)
Send us a text Composer's Jeffery Scott and Peter Askim discuss the upcoming performances of their new works. 'Anatomy of an Embrace' (World Premiere) by Peter Askim and 'Pesadelos 1' and 'Songs' by Jeffery Scott will be perfomed by Mallarme Music on Friday, February 2, 2024, 7:30 p.m. at the PSI Theatre, Durham Arts Council, Durham NC. If you live nearby, we hope to see you there.
- Mara Keen - The Essence of Emotion (00:43:48)
Send us a text Mara Keen's talents shine through in her music, particularly when it comes to capturing the essence of time and motion. Her compositions are uniquely attuned to the emotions depicted on screen, seamlessly blending with the language of film. Son of Saul Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qOl7HtZc1c
- Thomas Little: A Complex Intuition (01:13:39)
Send us a text From algorithms to Youtube, Thomas Little bridges the intuition of a composer with the heart of a teacher. With a deep understanding of music and music history, Little is not only a prolific composer but also an influential educator who shares his knowledge and passion for music with others on his successful Youtube channel Classical Nerd.
- Annie Nikunen - Embodied Music (01:12:57)
Send us a text Composer, flutist, choreographer, sound artist, and radio broadcaster Annie Nikunen's music is an embodiment of her humanity. Join Tarik and Anna for an exploration of the physicality of sound with this lovely, creative spirit.
- Paul Moravec - From the Underground to Freedom, to the Overlook and the Tempest. (01:13:37)
Send us a text From the kind-natured city of Buffalo, NY to the vibrant energy of Long Island; from being the Head Chorister in the Choir of Men and Boys at St. Pauls Cathedral to being the 2004 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, Music has always been at the heart of who Paul Moravec is. In this episode of the Composer's Studio, Moravec speaks so eloquently about the personal intention of his music, its lyricism and the connection he feels to some of his most important pieces.
- Douglas Boyce - The Speed of Time (01:36:53)
Send us a text With a fascination with language and mythos, Douglas Boyce composes music that draws on Medieval and Renaissance traditions but sits firmly within a modernist aesthetic. Building rich rhythmic structures that shift between order, fragmentation, elegance, and ferocity, many of his works have a direct historical touchstone. Other works draw on sources from antiquity, literature, and philosophy. Join Tarik and Anna for a deep dive into a fascinating, modernist mind.
- Christopher Dietz “My Manifesto” (01:29:55)
Send us a text Award winning Composer Christopher Dietz is a stargazer, his compositions moving through the darkness of spacetime in whirling constellations of sound. With instruments standing in for celestial bodies, Dietz engages in a philosophical contemplation of dualities and opposition, changing seasons, beginnings and endings. The individual, in relief against the unfathomable mass of the Universe, turns from the broader view to the comforting safety of self-made limitations. Die...
- Rain Worthington - Tapping into the pre-verbal Language (01:31:06)
Send us a text It's very mysterious how it works, this pre-verbal language that we all recognize and comprehend. It's not simplistic or concrete yet somehow it channels and resonates its way through our minds and into our souls. It is with this vision and deep understanding that Worthington composes. Often, she may not even know the meaning behind a composition until she has finished writing it. Rain is a self-taught composer. Magical Realism, Reflection and Musical Angels are s...
- Shanan Estreicher - A Composer with the Heart of a Teacher (01:14:37)
Send us a text Shanan Estreicher is a man of many accomplishments, and he has done so, not for himself but for others. There is a Hebrew phrase "Torah Lishmah." Loosely translated, it means - a raging thirst for knowledge. But, in Shanan's case the gift he offers is not about the knowledge he's learned but rather the knowledge he shares. With a heart of a teacher, Shanan expresses his musical voice in a passionate and honest way: an uninterrupted communication of musical language ...
- Samuel Zyman - Musical Adventures of Noble Invention (01:16:59)
Send us a text From legendary educator at the Juilliard School to Professor of Composition and Music Theory at Vanderbilt University, Composer Samuel Zyman is one of the leading Mexican composers on the international scene today. Known for his use of vigorous rhythmic energy and expressive lyricism, Dr. Zyman infuses the many styles that define his heritage.
- Edward Smaldone - The Architecture of Music (01:22:04)
Send us a text From big ideas to tiny details, join us this week on the Composer's Studio as we embark on a thought provoking discussion about music, life and how harmony relates to the corner of a room. From rock guitar to pencil and manuscript, from the Aaron Copland School of Music to City University of New York, Edward Smaldone does everything with passion and commitment.
- Tarik Ghiradella - Molecules of Sound (01:06:32)
Send us a text On this special episode of Composer’s Studio, join Anna and guest host Shanan Estreicher for a fascinating dive into the music of our own Tarik Ghiradella. A master of what might be called minimalist maximalism, Ghiradella’s music undergoes astounding transformations from just a few tones-- mere molecules of sound into a dark, misty malediction, the hope of eternal life in another world, or even the love of a mother for her child. His music has been featured on the American Her...
- Angelica Negron - The Sounds of Music (01:24:18)
Send us a text Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón’s music is deeply personal, reflecting a sensitive, playful nature that takes nothing for granted. Even the most mundane sounds--a stapler, a calculator, crumpling paper, pots and pans become beautiful in her sound sculptor’s able hands. Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative,” while The New York Times noted her “capacity to surprise.” Negrón has been commissioned by t...
- Aaron Noë - Paving the Way for Others (01:05:11)
Send us a text Composer, performer, conductor, and educator Aaron Noë is a musical hero, for he writes music not only for himself or for professional performers, but for students just beginning their musical explorations. So many composers we have spoken with on this show had their first experience with music in a school band or choral program. In this episode of Composer’s Studio, Tarik and Anna celebrate the music of a composer who has dedicated his life and work to paving the way for other...
- Jenny Olivia Johnson - Don't Look Back (01:23:02)
Send us a text Composer and sound artist Jenny Olivia Johnson’s work is a musical memoir, her multi-sensory synesthesia coloring everything she does. Her compositions and artwork range from electroacoustic chamber songs and contemplative solo works to short amplified operas and interactive sound and light sculptures. We can’t take you through one of her fascinating installations, but her music is a fascinating experience all on its own.
- Anthony Constantino - The Futility of Music (01:05:38)
Send us a text Composer Anthony Constantino wonders, where do I fit in the larger picture? Why does the world need another quartet, another chamber work when so much great work has already been composed? The World already has Beethoven and Stravinsky, Bartok and Shostakovich. Did they not reach the pinnacle of what is possible in classical form? Thankfully, Anthony has figured out how to shut off his doubting mind. Constantino writes everything from chamber, vocal, and electroacoustic music t...
- Peter Askim- What's next? (01:08:47)
Send us a text Composer Peter Askim does it all. Active as a performing bassist, Conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, Director of Orchestral Studies at North Carolina State University, he is also founder and Artistic Director of The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, fostering and mentoring young composers and performers. A few months ago, Peter Askim added ‘Dad’ to his distinguished list of titles. It wasn’t easy for us to get this interview, but it was ...
- Composer's Studio Holiday Show (01:00:20)
Send us a text Anna and Tarik close out the Composer's Studio first season with a holiday special of Sacred Choral works.
- Anthony R Green - Celebrating Black Artistry through Music (01:16:40)
Send us a text Join Tarik and Anna for a deep conversation with Anthony R. Green, American composer, pianist, and social justice artist, whose solo and collaborative work have been presented in over 25 countries. A passionate activist as well as a composer, Anthony is co-founder and Associate Artistic Director of Castle of our Skins, a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. He is currently a fellow at the Berlin University of the Arts. Fro...
- Douglas Knehans - Is Emotion in Music Real? (01:15:44)
Send us a text Drifting through falling air and tempests, we find ourselves in a musical world of unfinished introspection. Do you think emotion in music is real? Let’s find out. Join us on the Composer’s Studio as we explore that question and more with award winning composer Douglas Knehans.
- David Serkin Ludwig - The Music of a New Colossus (01:30:33)
Send us a text When one of your earliest memories is of your grandfather playing at Carnegie Hall, it is hard work just to carve out a place for yourself in your own family. Our guest, Composer David Serkin Ludwig does his namesake proud. Once named by NPR Music as one of the world’s “Top 100 Composers Under Forty,” David’s choral work “The New Colossus,” opened the private prayer service for President Obama’s second inauguration. Based in the creative cauldron of Philadelphia’s hot con...
- David Kirkland Garner - Red Hot Sun (01:15:24)
Send us a text Composer David Kirkland Garner’s music is borne of an obsessive urge to take things apart, separate out the fragments of color, emotion, rhythm, and then reassemble it in a way that reveals new meaning and relevance. Grappling with the legacies of everything from the intimidating dominance of Beethoven’s place in the canon, to the confusing shame and nostalgia of his family’s Confederate past, Garner crafts exquisitely wrought transformations of everything from Bach violin sona...
- Elainie Lillios - The Fascination of Sound (01:02:49)
Send us a text Composer Elainie Lillios creates electroacoustic soundscapes reflecting her fascination with observing and manipulating the qualities of sound itself. Come with Tarik and Anna on a journey to a world of dreams and memory at the edge of the Immeasurable Distance where those we have loved and lost reside.
- Family Secrets: Daniel Thomas Davis and Andrea Edith Moore (01:00:26)
Send us a text We are so excited about the new release of Andrea Edith Moore's debut recording of Daniel Thomas Davis’ haunting and humorous work, Family Secrets: Kith & Kin. Set to texts of seven internationally renowned authors of the New South: Frances Mayes, Daniel Wallace, Allan Gurganus, Lee Smith, Randall Kenan, Michael Malone, and Jeffery Beam, this series of interconnected dramatic portraits tell of murder, gossip, humor, regret, solace and ultimately…forgiveness. Get the i...