Composer's Studio

From the kind-natured city of Buffalo, NY to the vibrant energy of Long Island; from being the Head Chorister in the Choir of Men and Boys at St. Pauls Cathedral to being the 2004 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, Music has always been at the heart of who Paul Moravec is.

In this episode of the Composer's Studio, Moravec speaks so eloquently about the personal intention of his music, its lyricism and the connection he fe...

With a fascination with language and mythos, Douglas Boyce composes music that draws on Medieval and Renaissance traditions but sits firmly within a modernist aesthetic. Building rich rhythmic structures that shift between order, fragmentation, elegance, and ferocity, many of his works have a direct historical touchstone. Other works draw on sources from antiquity,   literature, and philosophy. Join Tarik and Anna for a deep dive i...

Award winning Composer Christopher Dietz is a stargazer, his compositions moving through the darkness of spacetime in whirling constellations of sound. With instruments standing in for celestial bodies, Dietz engages in a philosophical contemplation of dualities and opposition, changing seasons, beginnings and endings. The individual, in relief against the unfathomable mass  of the Universe, turns from the broader view to the comfo...

It's very mysterious how it works, this pre-verbal language that we all recognize and comprehend. It's not simplistic or concrete yet somehow it channels and resonates its way through our minds and into our souls. It is with this vision and deep understanding that Worthington composes.  Often, she may not even know the meaning behind a composition until she has finished writing it.

Rain is a self-taught composer.  Magical R...

Shanan Estreicher is a man of many accomplishments, and he has done so, not for himself but for others.  There is a Hebrew phrase "Torah Lishmah." Loosely translated, it means - a raging thirst for knowledge.  But, in Shanan's case the gift he offers is not about the knowledge he's learned but rather the knowledge he shares. With a heart of a teacher, Shanan expresses his musical voice in a passionate and honest way...

On this special episode of Composer’s Studio, join Anna and guest host Shanan Estreicher for a fascinating dive into the music of our own Tarik Ghiradella. A master of what might be called minimalist maximalism, Ghiradella’s music undergoes astounding transformations from just a few tones-- mere molecules of sound into a dark, misty malediction, the hope of eternal life in another world, or even the love of a mother for her child. ...

Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón’s music is deeply personal, reflecting a sensitive, playful nature that takes nothing for granted. Even the most mundane sounds--a stapler, a calculator, crumpling paper, pots and pans become beautiful in her sound sculptor’s able hands.  Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative,” while The New York Times noted her “capacity to su...

Composer, performer, conductor, and educator Aaron Noë is a musical hero, for he writes music not only for himself or for professional performers, but for students just beginning their musical explorations. So many composers we have spoken with on this show had their first experience with music in a school band or choral program. In this episode of Composer’s Studio, Tarik and Anna celebrate the music of a composer who has dedicate...

Composer Anthony Constantino wonders, where do I fit in the larger picture? Why does the world need another quartet, another chamber work when so much great work has already been composed? The World already has Beethoven and Stravinsky, Bartok and Shostakovich. Did they not reach the pinnacle of what is possible in classical form? Thankfully, Anthony has figured out how to shut off his doubting mind. Constantino writes everything f...

Composer Peter Askim does it all. Active as a performing bassist, Conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, Director of Orchestral Studies at North Carolina State University, he is also founder and Artistic Director of The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, fostering and mentoring young composers and performers.  A few months ago,  Peter Askim added ‘Dad’ to his distinguished list of titles. It wasn’t easy for ...

Join Tarik and Anna for a deep conversation with Anthony R. Green, American composer, pianist, and social justice artist, whose solo and collaborative work have been presented in over 25 countries. A passionate activist as well as a composer, Anthony is co-founder and Associate Artistic Director of Castle of our Skins, a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music. He is currently a fellow a...

When one of your earliest memories is of your grandfather playing at Carnegie Hall, it is hard work just to carve out a place for yourself in your own family. Our guest, Composer David Serkin Ludwig does his namesake proud. Once named by NPR Music as one of the world’s “Top 100 Composers Under Forty,”  David’s choral work “The New Colossus,” opened the private prayer service for President Obama’s second inauguration. Based in the c...

Composer David Kirkland Garner’s music is borne of an obsessive urge to take things apart, separate out the fragments of color, emotion, rhythm, and then reassemble it in a way that reveals new meaning and relevance. Grappling with the legacies of everything from the intimidating dominance of Beethoven’s place in the canon, to the confusing shame and nostalgia of his family’s Confederate past, Garner crafts exquisitely wrought tran...