5 Questions to Ryan Alexander (Founder, Project Poetic Justice)
Project Poetic Justice, founded by Ryan Alexander, runs a ten‑week music and poetry program for incarcerated young adults at the DC Jail. In its second year the cohort expands to over 50 residents, with roughly 30 choosing to engage, and culminates in two concerts—one inside the facility and a public show at Busboys and Poets. Participants cite emotional catharsis, reduced anger and anxiety, and one inmate secured a sentence waiver thanks to his involvement. The initiative is supported by volunteer educators from Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Institute and relies on public donations.
Maiani Da Silva Renews Sonic Connections to Nature on “Brouhaha”
Maiani da Silva’s 2026 album Brouhaha: Shaped by Fire presents six new solo‑violin works that intertwine music with anthropology and science. Each piece, commissioned from a different composer, probes a distinct aspect of humanity’s relationship to Earth’s ecosystems. The project includes a 31‑second field...
Perpetual Adaptability: Amina Claudine Myers at 84
Amina Claudine Myers, now 84, remains a prolific force across jazz, gospel, classical, and avant‑garde music. After early classical training and church choir roots in Arkansas, she migrated to Chicago in the 1960s, where the AACM nurtured her improvisational voice....
ListN Up Playlist: Xavier Emmanuel (April 9, 2026)
Xavier Emmanuel, a Denver‑born PhD candidate at Harvard, launched the “We Rise from Sameness” playlist to investigate how sonic repetition shapes identity. His interdisciplinary practice spans music, poetry, visual art, and scholarly research, with work shown at venues from Harvard...
Éliane Radigue: A Legacy of Listening Closely, Together
French composer Éliane Radigue, who died in February 2024, left a profound legacy as a pioneer of drone‑based electronic and acoustic music. Beginning with her early feedback works in the late 1960s and the iconic ARP 2500 synth pieces such as...
Madli Marje Gildemann Looks to Nature on “Dream Sequence of an Ancient Forest”
Estonian composer Madli Marje Gildemann releases *Dream Sequence of an Ancient Forest*, an album that fuses extended instrumental techniques, prepared piano, and unconventional sound sources. The six pieces move from delicate string‑quartet textures in “Osmosis” to the visceral, horror‑laden “AH‑64...
Lucy Liyou Breaks Free in Visceral “Mister Cobra” Performance
Lucy Liyou’s "Mister Cobra" at Performance Space New York fused live music, film, and 3‑D avatar combat into a visceral, blood‑splattered finale. The show acted as a live rollout for her upcoming MR COBRA album, featuring collaborators like Nick Zanca and Laura...
Building Financial Stability Beyond the Gig
Artists in the gig economy often lack formal financial training, leading to cash‑flow volatility and stress. The DC Jazz Festival’s CEO highlights budgeting, emergency savings, debt management, and retirement planning as essential habits for musicians. He also promotes workshops that...
Harriet Tubman & Georgia Anne Muldrow Grow Radical Gardens on “Electrical Field of Love”
Harriet Tubman, the New York‑based trio of Melvin Gibbs, Brandon Ross and JT Lewis, teams with Grammy‑winner Georgia Anne Muldrow for their sixth album, Electrical Field of Love, out March 27 on Pi Recordings. The record was captured in a multi‑day,...
“BODY SOUND” Is an Invigorating Take on Sculpted Improvisation
BODY SOUND, the debut album from Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart, presents a meticulously crafted improvisational soundscape that intertwines viola, cello, violin, and layered vocals. The record balances drone‑like textures with rhythmic motifs, employing extensive post‑production on tape...
London’s “Eternal Series” Honors the Generous Possibilities of Experimental Music
London’s Eternal Series, curated by Sasha Elina, staged its latest edition at the Swiss Church on March 11, featuring Irish composer Timothy Cape, violinist Mayah Kadish, and interdisciplinary artist Ecka Mordecai. Cape and Kadish explored improvised timbres by pulling a shared thread through...
Video Premiere: Beyond This Point Performs “TacocaT” By Julie Zhu
Julie Zhu, composer and head of the Deep Drawing AI lab, premiered her 22‑minute piece “TacocaT” at Chicago’s Frequency Fest in February 2025, commissioned by the experimental ensemble Beyond This Point. The work fuses GPT‑2‑generated text—fine‑tuned on Abbott’s *Flatland*—with live...
Talk Show Parses Daytime TV Absurdity and Horror at Roulette Intermedium
Talk Show debuted their experimental piece *Miss America* at Brooklyn’s Roulette Intermedium on February 26, reimagining late‑20th‑century daytime television through archival video, live music, and immersive projections. The duo—drummer‑synthesist Qasim Naqvi and trumpeter Steph Richards—were joined by visual artist Steven...
5 Questions to Camila Agosto (Composer, Interdisciplinary Artist)
Camila Agosto, a composer‑interdisciplinary artist and Columbia doctoral candidate, will premiere her new work *The Shape of Forgetting* with the International Contemporary Ensemble at Roulette Intermedium on March 11. The piece, part of ICE’s “Call For ___” commissioning initiative, explores identity, memory, and healing...