Music From Other Minds

On this Music From Other Minds, Mark Abramson presents a quirky mix of mid-century tape and electronic music. From Pierre Schaeffer to John Cage to Patti Smith, this program explores the many ways that musicians chose to use early electronic processes to expand the sonic possibilities of their work.

On this Music From Other Minds, Beth Anderson’s Ode, a tape piece composed of auctioneer recordings from a Kentucky tobacco warehouse recorded by Anderson in 1972. Also on the program, Sarah Hennies‘ Falsetto, three works from Angus MacLise’s album Brain Damage in Oklahoma City, and Tim Feeney’s work 18:55 for solo percussion.

Beth Anderson’s Ode was created and mixed at the Queen’s College and Wesleyan electronic music studios in 1975.

On this Music From Other Minds, Liam Herb presents: the music of Henry Brant. This program features many of Brant’s lesser known works, including his spatial piano concerto Inside Track and his Jazz Clarinet Concerto, which was written for (but never performed by), Benny Goodman.

On this Music From Other Minds, Randall Wong explores music written for and by elephants. It has been noted since ancient times that elephants seem to have an affinity for music. In 1957, German evolutionary biologist Bernard Rensch writes in Scientific American that he found elephants can distinguish at least 12 scale tones and remember simple melodies, even when played on different instruments at various pitches, timbres, and meters.

On this Music From Other Minds, Andrew Weathers presents: Radio Art.

In honor of her 90th birthday this year, the program will feature the work Partial Perceptions by the American sound artist and writer Helen Thorington. She is the founder of the non-profit New Radio and Performing Arts, which is an organization that commissions and archives new and experimental radio art, sound art, net art, and mixed reality works.

On this Music from Other Minds, Mark Abramson presents: Terry Riley’s Music for the Gift and other Classical/Jazz crossover works. In 1963, Terry Riley recorded the Chet Baker Quartet in a Paris studio with the intention of using the raw recordings to create an electro-acoustic work. He created a tape looping process he called the “time lag accumulator” and used it to create the five movement work, Music for the Gift.

On this Music From Other Minds, Randall Wong features works for women’s vocal ensembles written by women composers. This program highlights works by the composers Gilda Lyon, Laura Steenberge, Cara Haxo from Quince Ensemble’s 2018 album, Mother Land.

On this Music from Other Minds, Liam Herb presents: The Intergalactic Sounds of Sun Ra and his Arkestra. This program features Sun Ra’s enigmatic classic, Space is the Place, as well as a few selections from the live album, Nothing Is. The show continues with a few tracks from Sun Ra’s early, self-produced album, Supersonic Jazz, and concludes with a reading of Sun Ra’s classic poem, The Far off Place.

On this Music from Other Minds, Mark Abramson presents Terry Riley’s masterwork, A Rainbow in Curved Air, and other selections of experimental electronic music from the 1960’s and 70’s. The program ends with a guest appearance from some folks from the pop world, who love and respect Terry Riley’s music.

On this Music from Other Minds, Randall Wong presents two highly contrasting works for voice and orchestra. The first work, Frankenstein!, is by the neo-tonal, neo-expressionistic composer H.K. Gruber. The work melds components of cartoon music, jazz, and contemporary classical music into an action packed, and highly absurd, song cycle. After that you’ll hear Dans Le Sable by the Bay Area composer Loren Rush.