Classical Schmassical

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Join me in conversation with Asher Laub about his career path as a multidisciplinary musician, shaped by changing goals, influences, and even his physical health.

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Guest Bio

Asher began classical violin training at the tender age of 2 and had already performed with the Buffalo philharmonic by age 13. Asher’s expertise in improvisation across multiple genres has led him to a career as a soloist in demand,
performing at venues such as Madison Square Garden,
Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob Javitz
Center and across four continents. Asher has also been
featured on PBS, and has made headlines on CNN,
WABC, NBC, and the New York Post among many other major news sources. He has been booked to perform at special events for Google, Nickelodeon, TNT, National Geographic, Citigroup and a list of notables including George W. Bush, Ivana Trump and many others.

In 2014 Asher lived a musician’s nightmare when he lost the strength to play his violin for a number of years. Refusing to accept conventional advice he found a way to heal, building his strength to an unprecedented level. He used this experience as fuel to reinvent his live concerts as a high-energy contemporary violinist. In only a few months, Asher learned to merge, popular tunes and breakdancing choreography into his performances.

Asher also uniquely performs as a DJ violinist bringing his experience as a live performer and technical prowess as an audio editing and mixing guru to countless clubs and stages.

Asher has been privileged to teach children and adolescents from under resourced neighborhoods in the Bronx for almost 4 years. This has fostered his drive to make a positive imprint on others.
 
With a growing fan base in the tens of thousands, Asher is working to influence societal norms and conventional thinking about musical performance, helping to break down social and physical barriers for his fans and beyond.

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Join Murph and Alexa as they talk with composer, educator, and publisher Adrian Gordon about his career and new book, Note to Self: A Music Director’s Guide for Transitioning to a New School and Building a Thriving Music Program
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Adrian Gordon is an internationally performed composer and seasoned music educator.
After 17 years of teaching music in the classroom in South Florida and going through four music director job transitions in two different schools, as well as general music, choir, and two string orchestra positions, Adrian realized there was a gap in his music education training. Even though his undergraduate and graduate programs were musically and pedagogically extensive, he never felt as though they touched on those hard-to-navigate areas of transitioning between jobs.
Adrian currently serves as the director of orchestras at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. He believes in the power of music education in a child's life and understands the necessity of having passionate, confident, and supported music teachers at the helm, promoting great musical experiences for students.
In addition to teaching, Adrian is the founder of Leap Year Music Publishing, which publishes string music for elementary, middle, and high school ensembles. His compositions appear on the Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Georgia Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessment Lists. His compositions are distributed through J.W. Pepper and have been performed throughout the world. He takes pride in creating music that is fun and pedagogically sound at all levels.
Adrian received his BA in music from the University of Miami and his master's degree in music education at Florida International University. Born and raised in Miami, FL, he currently resides in Charlotte with his wife, Kelly, and their two sons. Learn more at www.adriangordonmusic.com

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Join me (new host Murphy Severtson!) as I talk with Joshua Roman on what it means to be a soloist, artistry, collaboration, and chronic health.

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Joshua Roman is a cellist, composer and curator whose performances embrace musical styles from Bach to Radiohead. Before setting off on his unique path as a soloist, Roman was the Seattle Symphony’s principal cellist - a job he began at just 22 years of age. He has since become renowned for his genre-bending repertoire and wide-ranging collaborations. He was also named a TED Senior Fellow in 2015. 

Collaborators include Tony-winner/MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Bill T. Jones and East African vocalist Somi, the JACK, St. Lawrence, and Verona Quartets, Tony-nominated actor Anna Deavere Smith, poet Tracy K. Smith, violinist Vadim Gluzman, and conductor David Danzmayr. 

Roman’s outreach endeavors have taken him to Uganda with his violin-playing siblings, where they played chamber music in schools, HIV/AIDS centers and displacement camps.

On January 14th, Roman will perform Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Suite and premiere Donna Milanovich Composer in Residence Reinaldo Moya’s cello concertino “Rise,” with the Chicago Philharmonic. Also programmed on the concert, guitarist Sharon Isbin will also perform the American Premiere of Dun’s Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra (Yi2). 

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Join me as I talk with the members of the newly formed Mosaic Composers Collective, of which I am a member!

Collective Mission Statement:

Mosaic Composers Collective, featuring Kevin Arthur Jr., Aidan Arbona, Naamia Rivera, Murphy Severtson, Alexa Letourneau, and Athos Maelstrom, is a gathering of composers in pursuit of an intimate – yet fearless – sound exploration of humanity’s many colorful spheres. Centered in curiosity, the Collective strives to create and curate that which challenges the world around them.

Artist Bios:

New York-based composer and cellist ATHOS MAELSTROM (b. 2002) [note: Podcast audio uses Athos' deadname], originally from Windsor, Colorado, is a fierce advocate of new art who seeks to become a vessel for the sonic imaginations of the world around them. They believe that music is social in nature and deeply respect the personal tenets that have always thrived in human sound. Athos works to carefully curate this material themself, utilizing identity and anecdote as a space of community between composer, performer, and listener.

MURPHY SEVERTSON (b. 1999) is a composer, improvisor, and academic from Delray Beach, Florida. Currently based in New York City, they received their undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College in 2022. In 2021, they composed Standing Upright, a testament to the strength of those struggling with chronic illness, for the American Prize-winning St. Olaf Band, funded by the St. Olaf CURI Project. Recently, their music has explored Florida nature, specifically mangrove trees and forests. A commissioned piece for high school band and choir, Tangled Roots, will be premiered in early 2023. Murphy finds the greatest amount of joy in making music that allows the audience, performers, and all those involved to be equal and loved collaborators.

NAAMIA RIVERA (b. 2004) is a black/hispanic composer and flutist based in New York City. They went to Fiorello H. Laguardia for Instrumental Music and they were a student of Music Composition and Flute at The Juilliard School Music Advancement Program. As a composer, they are interested in writing music about social justice, improvisational music, electronic/ambient music, and music from different countries/cultures. Naamia is in the studio of Valerie Coleman, where they study Composition and Flute simultaneously.

New York based creative ALEXA LETOURNEAU (b. 1998) is a composer, flutist, singer, researcher, and educator. An Ohio native, Alexa began playing the flute at eight years old. Within weeks, they were taping 5 pens together to draw a staff on which to begin composing. At present, their works are focused upon an exploration of shared human identity through sonic journeys, and as a performer, they frequently play premiers and workshop pieces with living composers. Alexa is not only a musician, however; they spend their free time developing recipes, writing poetry, and sewing increasingly outrageous costumes.

KEVIN ARTHUR JR. (b. 2004) is a Philadelphia born composer and instrumentalist with training in both jazz and classical music. He was a member of the Philadelphia All-City Fellowship and attended The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. His musical style is uniquely contemporary in approach with powerful infusions of Jazz, yet deeply romantic at heart. He enjoys the creative freedom that composing gives him, along with the beautiful collaboration it fosters. 

AIDAN ARBONA is a composer, pianist, and educator from Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by eclectic musical styles such as: Opera, Bebop, Funk, Lofi, Postmodernism, Grunge, and EDM, Aidan’s music is a mixture of dense harmony, syncopation, counterpoint, and interesting timbral mixtures.  Eager to write new music for modern musicians, Aidan approaches music wi

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Join me as I talk with Robert Dillon of Third Coast Percussion about his work as a percussionist, composer, and ensemble member, including working with Philip Glass and their exciting upcoming season, both in Chicago and around the world. 

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Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.

Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.

Robert has appeared numerous times on the Chicago Symphony’s contemporary music series, MusicNow, as well as the University of Chicago’s Contempo series, and was a member of the unique, international 12-percussionist Ensemble XII, which grew out of Pierre Boulez’s Lucerne Festival Academy (Switzerland). Robert was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and participated in programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, and Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan).

In addition to Third Coast recordings, Robert can be heard as a soloist on Innova Records (Christopher Adler—Ecstatic Volutions in a Neon Haze), and a performer on Naxos Records (American Music for Percussion, Volume 1) and Parlour Tapes+ (Katherine Young – Diligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight). He has performed as a soloist in America, Switzerland, and Jordan.

Robert holds a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, where he received the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance. His teachers include Michael Burritt, James Ross and Will Hudgins.

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Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy Award winning percussion quartet hailing from Chicago.
Founded in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has performed hundreds of concerts across the country, presents an annual concert season at home in Chicago, teaches musicians of all ages and experience levels, and has commissioned dozens of new works by composers including Glenn Kotche, Philip Glass, Devonté Hynes, Chris Cerrone, Augusta Read Thomas, Donnacha Dennehy, and David T. Little.

The mission of Third Coast Percussion is to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences.

Third Coast Percussion's vision is a world-wide audience that embraces creativity, curiosity, and community through music.

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Join me as I talk with arts administrator Christina Salerno about her artistic practice!

Guest Bio:
Appointed the Executive Director of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2017, Ms. Salerno joined the symphonic world having spent seven years as Executive Director of Salt Creek Ballet (SCB). While at SCB, Ms. Salerno led a campaign to build all new sets and costumes for the company’s annual production of The Nutcracker and successfully brought live orchestral accompaniment back to the production. Her passion for increasing the visibility and capacity of arts organizations has led her to lead initiatives aimed at increasing contributed and earned revenue levels, developing board capacity, and building innovative community engagement programming. Ms. Salerno holds a Masters of Performing Arts Administration degree from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration from Skidmore College. She has appeared as a guest lecturer for Loyola University’s Dance Department and Arts Reach, and currently serves as treasurer for the Illinois Council of Orchestras and VP Philanthropy of the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills chapter of the National Charity League. Prior to moving to the management side of arts organizations, Ms. Salerno enjoyed a 15-year professional ballet career as a soloist with Boston Ballet, Zurich Ballet and The Royal Ballet in London.

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Join me as I talk with composer Reinaldo Moya about his artistic practice!

Guest Bio:
Reinaldo Moya is a graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education system. He is the recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letter, the McKnight Composers Fellowship, the Van Lier Fellowship, and the Aaron Copland Award. He was the winner of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award, leading to the commissioning of his Piano Concerto for Joyce Yang and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

As the Composer-Residence at The Schubert Club 2017-19, he wrote Tienda: a chamber opera praised by  The Star Tribune for its "proud individuality... [and] textures of pulsing vibrancy, subtly shading harmonies to trace the fragile emotional arc of his central characters." His opera Memory Boy, with a libretto by Mark Campbell, was commissioned by the Minnesota Opera and premiered in 2016.

His works have been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, the New Jersey Symphony. Other performers include the Jasper and Attacca String Quartets, the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra, the Da Capo Chamber Players, the Lysander Piano Trio, among others.

He is a graduate of The Juilliard School with masters and doctorate degrees, studying with Samuel Adler and Robert Beaser. ​Mr. Moya has taught at St. Olaf College the Interlochen Arts Camp, and is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

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Join us as Joy Guidry and I talk about their new album, identity in music, and how to fix the problems with the music community as a whole. 

Guest Bio:

Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black artmakers and noisemakers comprise the core of NYC-based bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry’s work. Their performances have been hailed by The San Diego Tribune as “lyrical and haunting…hair-raising and unsettling.” A versatile improviser and a composer of experimental, daring new works that embody a deep love of storytelling, Joy’s own music channels their inner child, in honor of their ancestors and predecessors. In every aspect of their practice, Joy seeks to support, hire, and promote Black artists. To this end Joy has spearheaded Sounds of the African Diaspora, a competition and commissioning platform for composers from the African diaspora. This new initiative ensures that composers from the diaspora have access to the space, resources, and time necessary to foster new, innovative music. 

Joy holds a bachelor’s degree in Bassoon Performance from the Peabody Conservatory and a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Mannes School of Music. They have performed with the Dance Centre Kenya Ballet Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, and have been a featured soloist in Yvette Jackson’s opera Fear is their Alibi that premiered at the 2021 PROTOTYPE festival. They have been commissioned by The National Sawdust, Long Beach Opera, JACK Quartet, and the I&I Foundation, and they have attended and been featured by prestigious festivals including the Spoleto Festival USA and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Guidry is a finalist for the 2021 Berlin Prize for Young Artists taking place in Berlin, Germany in June 2022.

More info on Radical Acceptance, Joy's debut album:

“Radical Acceptance is a personal practice that has evolved in my life over the past year. This doesn't mean there aren't still tough times, but times of warmth and comfort are much more present these days. I will never be able to change my past, the things that hurt me, but I can live in a peaceful and beautiful life of my own creation. The most important thing I've had to teach myself is that there is nothing wrong with my body or my brain. My body is fat, and I struggle with my mental health daily, and neither of those things make me any less of a human being. I know that my Black, Fat, Queer and Non binary body is valid in every way. Learning to love my whole self unconditionally will be a lifelong journey, but I am just so happy to be where I am today. This is my radical acceptance.” - Joy Guidry

“Radical Acceptance is a radical geography that defies the status quo of everyday harm that speaks straight to the senses and emotions of the listener. The organizations of sounds, tracks, rapid fingering and figures of soul-piercing resonance bring our bodies, feelings, and intuition to an evocation of a powerful relationship with those who we’re performing alongside, and those who are listening to us.” - Marshall Trammell

Released on February 4th, 2022 on Whited Sepulchre Records 

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Join me as I chat with Wang Lu and Kelly Rourke about what it means to write an opera, as well as their most recent project, "The Beekeper."

Guest Biographies:
Composer and pianist Wang Lu writes music that reflects a very natural identification with influences from traditional Chinese music, urban environmental sounds, linguistic intonation and contours, and freely improvised traditions, through the prism of contemporary instrumental techniques and new sonic possibilities.

She is currently the David S. Josephson Assistant Professor of Music at Brown University, after receiving her doctoral degree in composition at Columbia University and graduating from the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. Wang Lu’s works have been performed internationally, by ensembles including the Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Alarm Will Sound, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Holland Symfonia, Shanghai National Chinese Orchestra, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Musiques Nouvelles, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente, Third Sound, Yarn/Wire, Curious Chamber Players, Ensemble Pamplemousse, Argento, the Aizuri Quartet, the New York Virtuoso Singers, Momenta Quartet and violinists Miranda Cuckson, Jennifer Koh, and pianist Joel Fan among others.

Wang Lu has received the Berlin Prize in Music Composition (Spring 2019 residency) and was a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow, and she has received commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation at the Library of Congress and the Fromm Foundation at Harvard. She won first prize at Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne’s Young Composers Forum in 2010 and shared the Tactus International Young Composers Orchestra Forum Award in 2008. She was selected for a Tremplin commission by IRCAM/Ensemble Intercontemporain in 2010 and the International Composition Seminar with the Ensemble Modern in 2012, and has also received two ASCAP Morton Gould awards.

Kelley Rourke is a librettist, translator and dramaturg. She has collaborated with composers including John Glover, Laura Karpman, Ben Moore, Kamala Sankaram and Wang Lu on new operas. Her modern English adaptations of numerous standard and not-so-standard operas have been hailed as “crackingly witty” (The Independent, London) and “remarkably well wedded to the music and versification in arias” (New York Times). She has written libretti for four youth operas, with performances across the country. In collaboration with artists including Tharanga Goonetilleke, Amy Severson, Erik Teague and S.Katy Tucker, she has created print and video adaptations of operatic stories.

Her work has been commissioned and performed by the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Young People’s Chorus of NYC, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Carnegie Hall, Urban Arias (Washington, DC), Met LiveArts, Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco, San Francisco Conservatory, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, American Opera Projects, Atlanta Opera, Kentucky Opera, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Nautilus Music-Theater, among others. 

Kelley has been engaged as a guest lecturer at Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and University of Maryland College Park; and as librettist mentor for Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. She was founding editor of Opera America magazine and a contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Kelley is resident dramaturg for The Glimmerglass Festival

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