Music From Other Minds

Program 830: Terry Riley at 90

KALW Broadcast Date: June 22, 2025 | Host: Liam Herb

In celebration of Riley’s birthday, our KALW 91.7 radio program Music from Other Minds will broadcast a special Terry Riley program this Sunday, June 22nd. Host Liam Herb will give listeners a brief survey of this visionary composer’s 60-plus-year inspiring career in which he has combined his interest in classical rigor, jazz improvisation, and the spirituality of Indian classical music to fashion music that is universally hailed.

Born in 1935, California-native Terry Riley was crucial in the development of musical minimalism through pioneering compositions like In C (1964) and A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969). While Riley is well known for his singly authored compositions, his career has also been marked by numerous high-profile collaborations such as his work with the San Francisco Tape Music Center, his improvisatory drone music with The Theatre of Eternal Music, his study with Hindustani classical music master Pandit Pran Nath, his many commissions from the Kronos Quartet, as well as his involvement with numerous events spearheaded by our director, Charles Amirkhanian. He was a featured composer at the first Composer-to-Composer Festival (1988) and second Other Minds Festival (1995), performed at OM with pianist Gloria Cheng in 2018, and served on OM’s Board of Directors in the early 1990s.

The various programs of Other Minds remain a fruitful resource for those interested in learning about and listening to Riley’s music. Our archives contain a plethora of fascinating interviews, compositions, and photos of Riley, which you can peruse at the link below.

Program Audio

30-Second Spot