Donna Walker-Kuhne is celebrated as the nation’s foremost expert in audience development by the Arts & Business Council, and has devoted her professional career to increasing access to the arts – especially for communities that haven’t always seen themselves in those spaces. She joins Loki to chat about her development as an artist, her new book, Champions for the Arts, and how her Buddhist practice fuels her mission. Loki celebrates the 95th anniversary of the Soka Gakkai.

• I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
• Walker International Communications Group, Inc.
• Champions for the Arts
• "Mother Earth Drumming"
• "Black Orpheus"
• Soka Gakkai

As the orchestral field continues to face its relative lack of diversity on stage, Joe LaRocca has dedicated work toward raising awareness around a lack of diversity under the stage. He joins Loki to talk about his experiences as a theater musician, the challenges he's faced engaging this topic among theater professionals, and the written word that supports this activism. Loki responds to the 2025 New York City mayoral election. 

• Joe LaRocca
• "Casting the Pit" by Joe LaRocca
• Substack - Katherine Needleman
• Substack - Gabriel Kahane
• Vortex Soup
• Joe LaRocca with the NIU Middle Eastern Music Ensemble 

Josh Jones and Bill Neri join Loki Karuna to chat about the new album from Sphinx Virtuosi: American Mirror. Loki explores his history with the Sphinx Organization and encourages others to consider the diversity of tactics needed to institute change in the classical field. 

• Recomposing America/American Composers Forum
• Sphinx Organization
• Josh Jones
• Bill Neri
• American Mirror
• "Drill" by Curtis Stewart
• "Habari Gani" by Quenton Blache
• Sphinx Panel: The Orchestra as a Predominantly White Institution

Stefan Thompson is a composer whose works celebrate the beautifully diverse aesthetics and traditions of his Bahamian home. He joins Loki to chat about growing up in the Bahamas, his entry into composition, and his research that shines a light on the lack of diversity in the world of film music.

Support for TRILLOQUY comes from WDAV! 

• Stefan Thompson
• NDE: Impressions of a Near Death Experience 

Monica Ellis has blazed a trail in "classical" music for nearly 30 years as a founding member of the historic Imani Winds ensemble. She joins Loki to talk about her career, so far, her past and upcoming work with the Gateways Music Festival, and more! Loki offers a peek into his work as the new Executive Director of the American Composers Forum. 

• Gateways Music Festival 
• Monica Ellis
• Liber Tango (arr. Jeff Scott)
• Afro Blue
• Recomposing America (presented by the American Composers Forum)

Music at the Anthology (MATA) was founded in 1996 and has become the world’s most sought-after performance opportunity for adventurous emerging music artists experimenting with composition, multimedia, and collaborative performance art. Loki chats with MATA's Executive Director, Pauline Kim Harris, about the festival, her life, and shifting status quo in the field. Loki shares notes from his upcoming address at the League of American Orchestras Conference.

• Pauline Kim Harris
• MATA Festival
• "Metamorphosis 2" by Philip Glass
• "Ambient Chaconne" by Pauline Kim Harris
• League of American Orchestras Panel: Follow the Music for Systemic Change

Amanda DeBoer Bartlett has reached beyond her training in opera to write and produce music from her own aesthetic experiences. Loki and Amanda chat about her upbringing in "classical", the notion of genre, and her new album, "Braided Together". Loki reflects on his time at the American Composers Orchestra as he begins his new journey with the American Composers Forum. 

• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett/'Braided Together"
• "Braided Together" (track)
• "Cherry Blossom"
• American Composers Forum

Yuliana Lagunas is a rising star in the world of music as the concert mistress of the Inner-City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), and hopes to use the leadership skills she's cultivated to become a leading pediatrician! She joins Loki to talk about her journey, so far, why ICYOLA has been important for her overall development, and what this all means for her as a Latina in America today. Loki responds to recent cuts by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Support from TRILLOQUY comes from WDAV-FM! 

• The Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles
• Yuliana Lagunas featured in Teen Vogue
• "Huapango de Moncayo"
• Violin Concerto by Manuel Ponce (finale)
• Trump Cuts NEA Grants

Curtis Stewart returns to TRILLOQUY to chat about his life since becoming Artistic Director of the American Composers Orchestra, his engagements with the Gateways Music Festival, and his newest work, "Seasons of Change". Loki speaks to what he thinks people should think about as it relates to current TV shows and movies that deal with group resistance.

**Support for TRILLOQUY comes from WDAV-FM!

• Curtis Stewart
• "Krishna" (from Curtis Stewart's "of Love.")
• LOVE SHARK, by Curtis Stewart
• Grassroots Organizing Wisdom Will Be Crucial With a Fascist in the White House
• The Smithsonian PURGE: Trump Team Removes Artifacts of Black Resistance
• How One Man Convinced 200 Ku Klux Klan Members To Give Up Their Robes

World-renowned musician, educator, performer, and composer, Damien Sneed, chats with Loki about his life, the power of existence, and the upcoming premiere of his new work, "Reflections of Resilience" by the Gateways Festival Orchestra. Loki speaks to dealing with feelings of "being left out" as Black communities grow within the field of classical music.

Support for TRILLOQUY comes from WDAV-FM!

• Damien Sneed
• Gateways Music Festival
• "Call Him By His Name"
• "Invitation: 'Come and Join the Army"