Descriptors like “extremely specific” and “incredibly nuanced” become touchstones when speaking with Augusta Read Thomas about her life and work and the inspiration that drives it all. Read the interview…

Pitre writes music that just sounds good. The tuning schemes he uses are not the ends themselves; rather, they serve to further open up the acoustic worlds that can be elicited from the instruments, creating a rich, meditative space for listening.

In the arts, you’ll come across a lot of multi-talented people, but not many who can boast the depth of accomplishment in as many areas as George E. Lewis. Read the interview…

You could call Shodekeh (a.k.a. Dominic Earle Shodekeh Talifero) a beatboxer or a vocal percussionist, if you want to feel a little more refined about it. But what the Baltimore-based musician seems to be more than anything is a chameleon, breathing out entire rhythm and bass tracks and blending them into a borderless range of performance situations.

John Kander has been composing music for challenging, thought-provoking theatrical productions for half a century and is eager to keep working. Read the interview…

“I like music that establishes a sound and lets that sound live and breathe and expand and contract and evolve and die,” says composer Richard Carrick.

While there’s certainly a lot of talk about breaking down aesthetic barriers, Ted Hearne is one of the few who really walks the walk.

Kyle Gann has been able to write so effectively and authoritatively about the composers of our time because he is also a composer himself. Read more…

Vijay Iyer’s music might have some rigorous concepts behind it, but the end goal is always a direct and visceral engagement with the audience. Read more…

Connecticut-born David Bruce has been based in England since he was six weeks old but his extremely independent-minded compositions have a great deal in common with much of the music being created here today and continues to grab attention at many of America’s most high-profile venues.