Live Shows – Relevant Tones

#401 Relevant Tones Live: commercialism in Art

Posted on October 23, 2023October 23, 2023 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

What is art worth and who determines its value? Join host Seth Boustead and special guests composer Douglas J. Cuomo (operatic adaptation of Doubt; Sex and the City theme), art curator Tod Lippy (Esopus magazine) and filmmaker Juliet Ellis (The Virtues) for a lively discussion of this pertinent topic. The music performed includes Cuomo's piece A Far Playground for cello and piano, Commercial Etudes by Will Rowe and Nivea Hair Care … Continue reading #401 Relevant Tones Live: commercialism in Art →

#379 Relevant Tones Live: Overlooked no more

Posted on May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

The New York Times’ Overlooked series was introduced on March 8, 2018 for International Women's Day, when they published fifteen obituaries of "overlooked" women, and has since become a hugely successful bi-weekly feature in the paper. As part Relevant Tones: Live, Access Contemporary Music has commissioned five composers to write musical portraits of the lives in the series, including surrealist … Continue reading #379 Relevant Tones Live: Overlooked no more →

#319 Carla Kihlstedt’s Necessary Monsters

Posted on December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

Taped live as part of the third night of the 2021 Relevant Tones Festival, this is the album release party for Carla Kihlstedt and Rafael Oses' stunning collaborative project Necessary Monsters. Necessary Monsters is a collaboration between composer/musician Carla Kihlstedt and poet Rafael Osés. It is a contemporary song cycle based on Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges’ Book … Continue reading #319 Carla Kihlstedt’s Necessary Monsters →

#312 Useless Machines

Posted on October 18, 2021October 18, 2021 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows, Themed Shows

The opening night of the Relevant Tones Tenth Anniversary Festival featured an exciting multi-media concert of music inspired by Rube Goldberg machines. We were joined by Rube's granddaughter Jennifer George who is also the director of the Rube Goldberg Institute, and an all-star roster of musicians for an unforgettable evening. MUSIC Rube G. by Frank … Continue reading #312 Useless Machines →

#308 Thirsty Ears Live

Posted on August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

ACM's Thirsty Ears Festival is Chicago's only classical music street festival combining stellar performances with great craft beer from Empirical Brewing. We did an intimate live broadcast the night before from the ACM School of Music featuring performances by Michael Hall, the Wurtz-Berger Duo and the Quijote Duo. MUSIC Neal and Jack and me by … Continue reading #308 Thirsty Ears Live →

#273 What’s the Narrative?

Posted on April 13, 2020May 18, 2020 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

Narrative is an important aspect of both music and storytelling. Seth will talk with composers Nathalie Joachim and David T. Little and writer J. Robert Lennon about how they structure their music and stories. We'll hear music performed by cellist Nicholas Photinos and pianist Yasuko Oura and chat with them about their perspectives on narrative … Continue reading #273 What’s the Narrative? →

#272 Stargazing

Posted on January 14, 2020April 13, 2020 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

Full Episode https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKKOqw6qRyqeUtYpFr8yw4N29I5gNtx5m According to the New Yorker "astrology is currently enjoying a broad cultural acceptance that hasn’t been seen since the nineteen-seventies. The shift began with the advent of the personal computer, accelerated with the Internet, and has reached new speeds through social media." Seth chats with expert astrologers Rebecca Gordon and Sam Reynolds … Continue reading #272 Stargazing →

#271 Live at LPR: Jenny Lin Plays ICEBERG

Posted on January 19, 2019January 29, 2019 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

Pianist Jenny Lin likes to test her limits. In 2006 she challenged composers to write virtuosic works for her in which they imagined that she had an eleventh finger. Not surprisingly, these pieces are now some of the hardest in the piano repertoire but she hasn’t rested on her laurels since then. Her latest labor … Continue reading #271 Live at LPR: Jenny Lin Plays ICEBERG →

#270 Live at Lincoln Center: Vanishing City

Posted on December 18, 2018January 17, 2020 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows

Jeremiah Moss’ book, Vanishing New York inspired this live program featuring the music of New York City composers who were an important staple of the ’70’s and ’80’s scene but were taken too soon. We’re honoring Julius Eastman, Arthur Russell, Ben Weber, and Tui St. German Tucker by representing their works and stories. This program … Continue reading #270 Live at Lincoln Center: Vanishing City →

#264 Thirsty Ears Festival Preview

Posted on August 10, 2018January 19, 2019 by Seth Boustead in Live Shows, Performer Features

We’re opening our doors to Nick Photinos, David Schrader, and other Thirsty Ears Street Festival performers for a preview concert. The third annual festival kicks off on Saturday, August 11 and ends on Sunday, August 12. You can visit the festival at Wilson street between Hermitage and Ravenswood; the two day event will feature fifteen stellar … Continue reading #264 Thirsty Ears Festival Preview →