One Symphony with Devin Patrick Hughes

Anna Clyne Composer, The Sound of Beauty

Composer Anna Clyne joins conductor Devin Patrick Hughes on One Symphony. They discuss Anna’s influences like Stravinsky, Steve Reich, and Arvo Part, composing based on poetry from Rumi to Shakespeare, along with silence in music, symphonic programming, repurposing material from others or yourself, and a way for a composer to be in the room with an orchestra from anywhere in the world!Anna Clyne is a GRAMMY-nominated composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music. Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” by the New York Times and as “fearless” by NPR, Clyne is one of the most acclaimed and in-demand composers of her generation, connecting her music across art forms with innovative collaborations with choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians. Also the winner of the 2016 Hindemith Prize, Anna Clyne is currently the Associate composer for the Sottish Chamber Orchestra, and has held composer residencies with the Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and the National Orchestra of France. Some of Anna Clyne’s most amazing works that have been performed by the top orchestras, soloists and conductors around the world, include Dance for cello and orchestra, Night Ferry, Rewind, This midnight Hour, Prince of Clouds, The Seamstress, Sound and Fury and Within Her Arms. Marin Alsop said it best by describing Anna’s music as “always emotional and driven by her heart, and skillfully composed”.Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Anna Clyne for sharing her music and insights. Thank you to all the incredible performers and record labels that made this episode possible!
Cornelius Dufallo and Amy Kauffman played Tea Leaves from The Violin. 
Dance was performed by Inbal Segev, and the London Philharmonic conducted by Marin Alsop.
Masquerade was performed by the BBC Symphony conducted by Marion Alsop. 
A Wonderful Day was performed by Anna Clyne and Willie Barbee from Bang on a Can All-Stars on the Cantaloupe Music label.
 Rewind was performed by the BBC Symphony and Andre de Ridder.
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was performed by the London Symphony and Rafael Frübeck de Burgos. 
Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge was performed by the Takács Quartet. 
Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra was played by the Hungarian State Symphony and Adám Fischer.
You can check out Anna Clyne’s music online at annaclyne.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

Composer Jack Frerer’s Musical Wit

Composer Jack Frerer joins conductor Devin Patrick Hughes on One Symphony today. They speak about the secret sauce to writing great music, conducting and composing teachers, comedy in music, how rock guitar and music theory make a great classical composer, and much more!The music of Australian composer Jack Frerer has been performed around the world, including the Arapahoe Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, and Albany Symphony.
Although still a young composer at the age of 26, Jack has received numerous awards, including a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Morton Gould Composers Award from ASCAP, the Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, the Brian Israel Prize from the Society for New Music, and was winner of both the Juilliard Orchestra and Gena Raps Chamber Music competitions. He was a Tanglewood fellow for 2019, a composer for New York City Ballet’s, and is currently Composer-in-Residence with the Arapahoe Philharmonic. Jack studied with John Corigliano and Robert Beaser at Juilliard, and is currently a graduate student at the Yale.
Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Jack Frerer for sharing his music and insights. Thank you to all the incredible performers that made this episode possible. Downloads was played by KJ Mcdonald, Philip Sheegog, Ning Zhang, Viola Chan and Joey Chang. On-Again, Off-Again was performed by The Juilliard Orchestra. Spiral Sequences by the Azure Quartet: Kj McDonald, Brenden Zak, Hannah Geisinger and Yifei Li. Stutter Step was played by Kevin Zhu, Philip Sheegog and Tengku Irfan. The Present Hour was performed by The Albany Symphony’s ‘Dogs of Desire’ ensemble, featuring vocalists Lucy Dhegrae and Lucy Fitzgibbon, and texts by Ayla Sullivan, Dominic Huey, Emily Brontë and Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.  Brahms’s Symphony no. 1 was performed by Paavo Berglund and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on the Ondine label.  
You can check out Jack’s music online at jackfrerer.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

It’s Legendary: Rapper Lightskin Legend

Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes interviews rapper Lightskin Legend on One Symphony today. Change is a mission statement for the charismatic 21 year-old Lightskin Legend, whose high aspirations to change the genre of hip hop and create social movement around the world drive his creative inspiration. A graduate of Rhodes College and master’s student at the University of San Diego but originally from Colorado, Grayson Walker is the grandson of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker and son of renowned concert violinist Gregory T.S. Walker, who is also with us today. 
 
Lightskin Legend has become a cult favorite with hits like “My Shot”, “Pretty Faces”, and “Main Thang”, and continues to expand in popularity as his unique lyricism and signature sound makes its way around the world. “My Shot” reached the top 25 in the U.K. iTunes Hip Hop Charts, and his latest album Commitment Issues seeks to build off that success. Lightskin Legend recently made his Symphonic debut on Gregory T.S. Walker’s dream n the hood, and I’m excited to bridge the symphony and r&b worlds together.
 
There is a Parental Advisory warning on the music featured in this episode. If you have kids in the room please make appropriate adjustments.Thank you for joining us on One Symphony with Devin Patrick Hughes and thanks to Lightskin Legend for sharing his amazing gifts and insights, and to his father Gregory T.S. Walker for joining in the conversation. Musical selections were performed and produced by Lightskin Legend and included Pretty Faces, Id, Commitment Issues, & Costa Rica. Ponce De-Leioun also performed on Pretty Faces.You can experience Lightskin Legend’s music on all platforms. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

Michelle DeYoung, Mezzo & Musical Enchantress

I am so excited today to be speaking with the globetrotting mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung. One of the most exciting artists of her generation, Michelle appears frequently with the world’s top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sao Paulo Symphony, and the Concertgebouw orchestra. She has also appeared in the top music festivals around the world including Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, Salzburg, and Lucerne. She’s worked with the most legendary conductors in classical music including Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Seiji Ozawa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mariss Jansons, and many more.Michelle has performed in the worlds great houses in works across the operatic spectrum from Wagner and Strauss to Bartok and Berlioz, and also regularly presents recitals across the world. Her recordings of Mahler’s 3rd symphony and Kindertotenlieder with the San Francisco Symphony and Berlioz’s Trojans with the London Symphony both received the Grammy for Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recordings. While not touring the globe and during the pandemic, Michelle can be found in Broomfield, CO, and I’m very honored to have her on the show today!Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Michelle DeYoung for sharing her amazing musical gifts and insights. Thank you to all the incredible performers and labels that made this episode possible. All vocal performances you heard feature Michelle DeYoung. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 2, the Resurrection, was performed by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez on Deutsche Grammophon. Esa-Pekka Salonen led the Philharmonia Orchestra in Bela Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle on Signum Records. Der Abschied from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde was played by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Eiji Oue on Reference Recordings.You can experience Michelle’s work and upcoming concerts online at MichelleDeYoung.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

Edgar Girtain, Composer in Isolation

I’m excited to share with you my interview with the fantastic composer and educator Edgar Girtain. I had a blast recording this interview, and I’m sure you’ll get a kick out Edgar’s passions and insights. I wanted to give all my listeners a heads up on this episode that there is some more colorful language and a depiction of a historical murder during the show. So if you have kids in the room or may find this content at all offensive, you may want make necessary adjustments.  That being said, I hope you enjoy the interview! 
 
Edgar Girtain is a traditional american composer with dozens of orchestral, chamber, and vocal works to his name. His music is regularly performed by a quantity of name-droppables in more places than even the composer can be sure of, and he holds beyond a reasonable number of degrees in music from several august institutions of higher education. His teachers include some composers you've probably heard of, but he learned the most from the teachers whose names you haven't, such as Charles Fussell, america's greatest forgotten composer. (He also owes deep gratitude to that elder statesman of eccentric american composers, David Felder). Edgar is regularly featured in his local newspaper, occasionally mentioned in bigger ones, and carves out his living as the head administrator of a minuscule university music department in cold, rainy Puerto Montt, Chile. Born in 1988, he's a married father of more than one daughter.
 
Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Edgar Girtain for sharing his music and insights. Thank you to all the incredible performers that made this episode possible. Music was excerpted from Edgar’s Isolation Day 253, his Trios and Barbara Allen for voice and violin. You can check out Edgar’s music online at edgarfgirtainiv.com You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

Barbara Harbach, an American Melodist

The distinguished American composer Barbara Harbach spent her career as a performer, professor, creator of symphonies, operas, string orchestra works, musicals, chamber music, silent film scores, ballets and much more. For decades she has been a trailblazing advocate for women in the arts. Her music can be found on many major labels such as MSR Classics, Naxos & Albany Records, and many more, with two upcoming album releases of chamber and orchestral music!  Barbara holds degrees from Yale and Eastman. Along with her Curators Distinguished Professorship at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, she’s received the Hellenic Spirit Foundation Award, YWCA Leader of Distinction award and many more. Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to Barbara Harbach for sharing her music and performances. Thank you to all the incredible performers and record labels that made this episode possible. 
• Twilight Dream from Frontier Fancies was performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony, violinist Frantisek Novotny, and conducted by Kirk Trevor on MSR Classics.
• In Peace and Joy I Now Depart from Barbara’s Suite Luther, Eliza and Lizzie from the Freedom Suite for String Orchestra, Together in Harmony from Symphony for Ferguson, and Midnight Tango from Night Soundings for Orchestra were performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Angus
• Ireland Remembered from Incantata was played by the St. Louis Chamber Players, conducted by James Richards. 
• O Most Noble Greenness from Visions of Hildegard and Danza Flamenco from Cuatro Danzas para Flauta y Piano were played by flautist Jennifer Mazzoni, violinist Jane Price, and pianist Alla Voskoboynikova
You can check out Barbara’s music online at BarbaraHarbach.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

The Emergence of Electronics in Symphonic Music - with John Clay Allen

Devin speaks with John Clay Allen about musicians and composers who were pioneers in bridging electronic and acoustic sounds, especially around the symphony orchestra. John Clay Allen is a composer, pianist, educator & explorer on the fringes where classical music meets electronic music. Originally from Ruidoso, New Mexico, his music is a synthesis of post-minimalist and spectralist styles, with an underlying predilection for the romantic. His music values the timbral and textural over the traditional note unit, and uses electronics to extend the realm of acoustic possibility. His body of work ranges from pieces for soloist and chamber ensembles to full orchestra, wind symphony, and opera, and his debut album Asnières (silent “s”) was released in 2020. Clay’s compositions have been performed across the United States and internationally at festivals including SEAMUS, CICTeM in Buenos Aires, the Cortona Sessions in Italy, and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. Recent commissions include works for the Boulder Symphony, Pendulum New Music’s Spark Award, sAge Brass, the Boulder Altitude Directive, and Ajax string quartet. Clay has been a fellow at New Music on the Point and the Charlotte New Music. As a performer, Clay frequently appears as a conductor and collaborative pianist, and has performed across the United States. Passionate about education and outreach, Clay has taught lessons and classes in composition, piano, and music technology for nearly a decade and is a founding member of the Equinox New Music Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing new music to new audiences. Clay holds degrees from West Texas A&M University, University of North Texas, and the University of Colorado Boulder where he received his doctorate in composition. Clay currently divides his time teaching at Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of Colorado Boulder. Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thanks to John Clay Allen for sharing his music, knowledge, & expertise. Thank you to all the incredible performers and record labels that made this episode possible. Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony was performed by the Oslo Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons. Respighi’s Pines of Rome was played by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert Van Karajan. John Adams Transmigration of Souls was performed by the NY Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel on Nonesuch Records. Au Deuxième Etage by Elainie Lillios is from the album Miniatures Concrètes from the Empreintes Digitales label. Pamela Z’s Ethel Dreams of Temporal Distubances is performed by Ethel, Vijay Iyer & Pamela Z from the album Light Cantaloupe Music. Gérard Grisey’s Partiels from Les espaces acoustiques is played by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, conducted by Stefan Asbury on Kairos Records. Warehouse Medicine from the B-Sides by Mason Bates is performed by San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas.The reminder of the tracks come from John Clay Allen’s Asnières, which you can find on all platforms, wherever you listen. You can check out John Clay Allen online at JohnClayAllen.com. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

Radical Love, a Conversation with Dominique Christina

Dominique Christina is a writer, performer, educator, activist, Mother, troublemaker, agitator, social commentator, star volleyball player, and was a high school and college teacher for ten years. She was the National Poetry Champion in 2011 and Women of the World Slam Champion in 2012 and 2014. Dominique can be found speaking online on TEDX and also on HBO’s High Maintenance. Her books, available everywhere include: -The Bones, the Breaking, the Balm, a Colored Girls Hymnal-Anarcha Speaks-This is Woman’s Work: Calling Forth Your Inner Council of Wise, Brave, Crazy, Rebellious, Loving, Luminous SelvesWe're very excited for you to hear our discussion which covers craft and performance, the etymologies of words, the importance of learning from past poets like Edgar Allen Poe and Beethoven, the relationship between artists and politicians, childhood, motherhood, and more. In additional to some amazing musical selections Dominique shares two of her more recent poems, It’s Morning and Praise Poem at the end of the episode. Thank you for joining us on One Symphony and thank you to Dominique Christina for sharing her amazing performances. Thank you to all the incredible performers and record labels who made this episode possible. Motherless Child was performed by O.V. Wright on Geffen Records. Simply Beautiful comes from Al Green’s I’m Still in Love with You by Fat Possum.  Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata was performed by Daniel Barenboim. Got to Give it Up by Marvin Gaye is on Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Incorporated. Shallows is from If You Leave by Daughter from Glassnote Entertainment, Daughter and A World Artists Love. The Other Side is from Little Ghost performed distributed by Moonchild, and Entertainment OneYou can find Dominique Christina’s books, including Anarcha Speaks and This Is Women’s Work on all platforms, wherever books are sold. You can always find more info at OneSymphony.org including a virtual tip jar if you’d like to support the show. Please feel free to rate, review, or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!
 
 

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker - A Guided Tour

Devin breaks down Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker. It wouldn’t be the Christmas Holiday in the western world without the magical sounds of the Nutcracker, composed by the great Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and centering around Clara, a young girl who falls in love with a Nutcracker Prince and conjures an epic battle against a Mouse King with Seven Heads.We’ll travel into the fantastical worlds of Tchaikovsky, writer and musician E.T.A. Hoffmann, and choreographer Marius Petipa as we bring this marvelous ballet to life. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of holiday sweets to keep you focused!
Thank you to all the incredible record labels and performers who made this episode possible.Ensembles:Orchestra of the Kirov Opera, Apotheosis Orchestra, Ensemble Musica Nigella, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Oslo Philharmonic, Vienna PhilharmonicConductors:Valery Gergiev, Korneel Bernolet, Takénori Némoto, Jan Koetsier, Gustavo Dudamel, Mariss JansonsSoloists: Éléonore Pancrazi, Rita Streich, Melitta Muszely, Raimund Grumbach, (singers);Philippe Bianconi, pianistLabels: Philips, Apotheosis, Klarthe, La Dolce Volta, Classical Moments, Deutsche Grammophon, Chandos, DeccaThank you for joining us. you can always find more info at OneSymphony.org. Please feel free to rate review or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!

The Silent Musician, a conversation with conductor Mark Wigglesworth

Devin speaks with award winning, internationally renowned, and in-demand conductor of symphonic and operatic repertoire, and writer Mark Wigglesworth. Mark’s conducting skills and passions take him equally formidably from the music of Mozart all the way to the present day.  Maestro Wigglesworth has some incredible recordings featuring all fifteen Shostakovich Symphonies, Mahler’s Sixth Symphonies, Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, and many more. Mark has recently released an incredible book titled the Silent Musician: Why Conducting Matters. This is of interest to conductors, beginning or seasoned, musicians, music lovers, and leaders in any field who want to be more connected to their ensembles and more influential.
During the show, Mark speaks about the influence and art of gesture, and the road to discovering you own. He discusses the history of how to decide on tempo, or speed at which music is played, and how it’s all about the character of the music. Mark covers why silence matters, and the effects of COVID on how rehearsals and performances are executed. 
Thank you to all the incredible record labels and performers who made this episode possible. All selections were conducted by our guest, Mark Wigglesworth. The excerpts from the 5th and 10th Symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich were performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Whales on the BIS Records label.  The Piano Concertos of Johannes Brahms were performed by pianist Stephen Hough and the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg.  The 13th Symphony Excerpt of Dmitri Shostakovich features bass soloist Jan-Hendrick Rootering and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic OrchestraYou can find Mark’s book, The Silent Musician: Why Conducting Matters, published by University of Chicago Press wherever you buy books!Thank you for joining us. you can always find more info at OneSymphony.org. You can find Mark at MarkWigglesworth.com. Please feel free to rate review or share the show! Until next time, thank you for being part of the music!