Relevant Tones

Composer, conductor, and producer Peter Askim joins Seth Boustead to discuss building vibrant communities around contemporary classical music through the NC State 10-Year Premiere Project, the NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists, and his work with orchestras across North Carolina.

From commissioning dozens of World Premieres to mentoring emerging composers and reimagining how audiences experience new music, Askim shares his vision for the future of the orchestra and the artists shaping it.
This is the first in a two-part episode.
MUSIC
The Raw Heart of the Spinning World by Peter Askim
The Inheritors Overture by Allison Loggins Hull
Nowruz for Orchestra by Adeliia Faizullina
Sinfonietta of Dreams movement III: There by Jeff Scott
Webbings and Circles by Nahre Sol

Composer Brent Michael Davids discusses his powerful new work Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People—a sweeping musical reckoning with the genocidal foundations of the United States, told through Indigenous voices.
Blending Native American musical traditions with orchestral forces, the piece confronts history through texts both personal and political, culminating in a message of resilience: “We Are Still Here.”
We also feature a selection of Davids’s music, offering a deeper window into his singular artistic voice and lifelong mission to center Native perspectives in contemporary classical music.

Esteemed composer Bernard Rands has passed away, a huge loss to our musical community. We honor his memory by re-airing this interview with host Seth Boustead from September 2017.
Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Bernard Rands reflects on a remarkable career spanning more than a hundred published works and recordings.
In this conversation with Relevant Tones, he shares insights into his musical language, creative process, and the ideas that have shaped his work
Produced by Sarah Zwinklis

Relevant Tones returns after our hiatus to bring you some of our favorite albums (and concerts) of the year.
It was a great year for music!
Hosted by Seth Boustead, Matthew Dosland, Stephen Anthony Rawson and Austin Williams.

MUSIC
For Adrienne I by Martin Gendelman
What Stories We Tell by George Hurd
Study No. 1 by Jessie Montgomery
Yanga by Gabriela Ortiz
At Which Point No. 1: Prologue by Wang Lu
Groung (Crane) by Mary Kouyoumdijian
More Mania by the Dirty Projectors
Thoka by Aniima
Moraine Lake by Frank Horvat

At the World’s Edge is a chamber music festival inspired by its roots in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and forging ties to Chicago and beyond.
Host Seth Boustead talks with violinist and founding Artistic Director Benjamin Baker about his vision for the festival and features music the festival has commissioned.

MUSIC
Yabo by Salina Fisher
String Trio No. 2 by Huw Watkins (excerpt)
Mata Au by Salina Fisher
Four Postcards by Gareth Farr