Relevant Tones

The Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival is an ambitious summer program that brings together young string players to work intensively with leading professionals while performing throughout Colchester and the surrounding communities.
For the past four years, the festival has also championed new music through its annual Call for Scores.
On this episode of Relevant Tones, Seth Boustead talks with Artistic Director Elizabeth Chang about the festival's unique approach to chamber music education and features works by recent Call for Scores winners Paul Novak, Jorge Amado, Ethan Jankowski, and Mary Brook Hartmann.

Best known for her acclaimed work with ballet companies across the country, Cristina Spinei has developed a distinctive musical language built on melodic cells, propulsive rhythms and subtle repetition which she affectionately describes as "minimalish."
Host Seth Boustead talks with Spinei about her new album, Moved by an Interior Impulse, her long collaboration with choreographers, and how writing for dance has shaped her voice as a composer.

On this episode of Relevant Tones we highlight Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Third Place [MusicFest] as they celebrate their 7th year. Third Place curates an annual, four day performing arts festival comprised of multiple concerts in local spaces. They are founded on principles both simple and often overlooked: that concerts should be radically welcoming, accessible, and inclusive.
Host Stephen Anthony Rawson talks with co-director Wesley Hornpetrie about the history of the festival, its efforts to create spectacular concerts around diverse and complementary programming, its deep roots in the local business community of Ann Arbor, and more.

MUSIC
C by Han Lash, performed by Woven Duo
Tale of Fourth by Leith
and through the pines, I hear the singing by Jacob Nance, performed by FLYDLPHN
Armenian Dance Medley by Ara Topouzian Trio
Baad Illi Kan by Taqsim

In the second half of our conversation with conductor, composer and producer Peter Askim, we take a deeper look at his efforts to champion living composers through initiatives like the NC State 10-Year Premiere Project.
Askim discusses the importance of creating opportunities for emerging voices, building lasting relationships between composers and performers, and finding new ways to connect audiences with contemporary music. He also reflects on the evolving role of orchestras in the 21st century and the future of new music.
MUSIC
Echoes From Our Digital World by Trevor New
Tiled Fields by James Budinich
Beacons for Chamber Orchestra by Ahmed Al Abaca
Episodes by Chris Boardman

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