Relevant Tones

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 Random Access Music.

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. 

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 which utilizes both traditional native, and western classical vocal techniques. Vocalist Robert Moore was a baritone that was the right person for the job.

Robert Moore was a native American with a background in classical singing. Being knowledgeable in both worlds of music allowed for this unique collaboration to begin.

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 which is prominently featured in many of the tracks in this first part.

Please enjoy the music, anecdotes, and friendships that have been developed between the native Lakota population and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and stay tuned for part two!

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.

Sandbox percussion partners up with Composer/Performer Matt McBane on an 8-movement virtuosic underwater adventure. Drawing on classical minimalism, electronic production, ASMR Youtube videos, and the diverse landscape of ambient modular synth music, Bathymetry features McBane’s Moog synth with Sandbox Percussion on a mix of found instruments (mixing bowls, ping pong balls, glass bottles, etc.), orchestral percussion (vibraphone, tam tam, etc.), and drum sets.

‘Bathymetry’ is the study of the “beds” or “floors” of water bodies, including the ocean, rivers, streams, and lakes.. McBane began studying bathymetry as an ocean-obsessed teenage surfer. The bathymetry of the ocean floor is a key factor on how waves break. On the album, the bass synthesizer interacts with the treble percussion in ways reminiscent of how the ocean floor shapes the waves passing above.

We celebrate the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos with music written in homage to those who are no longer with us.  Music by Miguel del Aguila, Sandunes and Kyla-Rose Smith, Elliot Carter, Michael Gordon and Gabriela Ortiz.

Golden Hornet's String Quartet Smackdown is a unique event in which a professional string quartet performs music by sixteen finalists letting the audience decide who will advance to the next round and who will ultimately be the Champion of Smackdown.

Submissions are now open for String Quartet Smackdown VIII through December 1st!  More info at www.goldenhornet.org.

Music by Feona Lee Jones, Chidi Obijiaku, Renato Marsiglia, Kennedy Taylor Dixon, Pertti Jalava, Cecilia Muylaert, Melika M. Fitzhugh, Minzuo LU, Juan Sebastian VarMon, Francis Kayali, James Ogburn.

Andrew Trim is a guitarist and composer. He can be found regularly working with some of the most talented and unique musicians in the midwest region and creating everything from mind-altering improvised flights to tightly contained, composed melodies. His instrumental projects - a quartet called Hanami and a trio called Dim Lighting - are the primary vehicles for his expressions.  In Retroreflector Andrew Trim's soaring melodies and psychedelic jazz flurries guide a sonically charged quartet grounded firmly in the Chicago sound. Together their swirling group improvisations explore haunting, timeless musical landscapes with peak immediacy.