The Music Critic with Harriet Cunningham

So, I promised at the end of our season finale episode last week that I would separate a couple of minutes here just to have a moment of reflection and some dedicated time to say thank you to all of you out there that are listening. It’s almost been two years since I came up with the idea of interrogating classical music and creating some sort of space or resource where we could have conversations. I hadn’t really been a podcast person and only occasionally listening to the odd true crime and naturalist podcast here and there, but realised that this would be a great way to listen to thoughts and exchange ideas. And so in late June of 2020, Declassify was born and its first episode with Felicity Wilcox was broadcast only 6 weeks later. 

If you’ve been following from the start, the first season across 2020-2021 was dedicated to unpacking some of the greater issues of diversity, representation and education that were plaguing classical music and reflecting its increasing exclusivity and inaccessibility to broader audiences (and to musicians themselves). Season 1 mainly focused on Australia and so came Season 2: The Aftermath. As some of you know, this was in the hope of shifting the conversation to one driven by more action and one on a more international scale. This season spanning August 2021 to March 2022 was dedicated to chatting to individuals who had put into place programs, methodologies and approaches from quota-driven programming techniques through to starting their own conservatoriums, to push for change across the classical music industry. I hope it has been enlightening and hopeful for you all as it has been for me. 

I just want to quickly thank all the guests across both seasons for taking part in this adventure and what I hope will continue to exist as an amazing resource to everyone out there. Just as a heads up, the podcast will continue to be available via podcasting services, Apple and Spotify until the end of this year in December, where it will then shift into an online archive made available on Sound Cloud and Youtube (where it already has a home), with all the transcripts staying permanently on my website should anyone need access to it and the podcast resources. 

Now most importantly, I wish to thank each and every person who has listened to this podcast over the last two years. You’ve emboldened me to further my own commitment to change in art music or classical music and have been such a remarkably supportive community as this space grew. The podcast is coming to an end as I think it is time for me to shift my focus, as per the theme of season 2, into action! Again, thank you to all for listening, I could not have done this without you all and I hope if anything, this podcast has sparked some ideas and conversations for you too. 

Wishing you all the best and best of luck, and maybe sometime in the future, catch you all next time. 

Victoria 

It is already the finale for SEASON 2: THE AFTERMATH and as a quick announcement, it is also the last ever episode of the DECLASSIFY podcast, but I will touch more on that later.  Today’s guest for the finale of the podcast is none other than artist, sound researcher, educator, curator and currently the artistic director of experimental arts company Liquid Architecture, Joel Stern. Joel was appointed the artistic director of Liquid Architecture in 2013 where in this capacity he has curated and produced festivals, exhibitions, concerts and publications in Australia and internationally. He has also led independent organisations including OtherFilm and Instrument Builders project. His interests as an artist, curator and researcher (where he currently teaches at Monash University) include sound, power, control, surveillance, social practice, experimental music and non-human or machine listening. This podcast finale explores intersections of making sound and listening, how to train one’s ear to be socially active and the power of artist-led interventions, research and movements.

Resources

https://liquidarchitecture.org.au/artists/joel-stern

https://liquidarchitecture.org.au/investigations/why-listen 

Seth Kim-Cohen ‘My Body Blushed to the Whistle of the Birch’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n9CjgUnVlI  

Christof Migone ‘Hit Parade’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdakgA9VXSo 

This week Declassify welcomes on aboard a guest that is quite remarkable and someone who reflects much of the spirit of the podcast – interdisciplinary practices, cross-genre listening and collaboration. Shruti is a composer, producer, and conductor from Los Angeles. Her work has spanned the film/tv, pop, and concert worlds, and she often finds herself involved in projects that mix genres and experiences. She has worked at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions and collaborated with artists including Alicia Keys. Her work has been used by/for The National Geographic, The United Nations, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. In fact, Shruti hosts her own show "Let's Shake On It" centered around bringing together esteemed and diverse musicians in conversation and collaboration in hopes of increasing transparency in the music industry and eliminating genre. And In March 2020, Shruti founded Sound Travels, a remote hire platform and educational resource to help musicians during COVID and beyond. In this episode, Shruti and Victoria examine what is means to make music that expands and breaks the mold of classical, and how we can make music new, exciting and imagination together. 

Resources
https://www.facebook.com/LivingMusicwithNadiaSirota/

https://theculturejournalist.substack.com/p/the-digital-hustle

https://www.shrutikumar.com/ 

Details about works:
SALT (feat. London Contemporary Orchestra)'  

Composer/Producer: Shruti Kumar 

Conductor: Hugh Brunt 

Recording Engineer: Fiona Cruikshank 

Mix Engineer: Eva Reistad 

Mastering Engineer: Heba Kadry

Guitar: Brandon Walters 

Sitar: Bishi Bhattacharya

Synths: Shruti Kumar

Electric Bass: Emily Retsas (@emilyretsas)

Artwork: Anna Azarov & Ellie Pritts (@annaazarov & @elliepritts)

'LAST CALL (feat. Shungudzo)'  

Composer/Producer: Shruti Kumar

Lyricist: Shungudzo Kuyimba

Featured Artist: Shungudzo

Songwriters: Shungudzo Kuyimba, Shruti Kumar

Vocal Arranging: Shungudzo Kuyimba

Engineers: Fiona Cruikshank (Church Studios - London), Eva Reistad (EastWest Studios - Los Angeles), Shruti Kumar 

Mix Engineers: Vira Byramji, Shruti Kumar

Mastering Engineers: Alex Sterling (Precision Sound), Heba Kadry 

Musicians-- 

Vocals: Shungudzo Kuyimba

Conductor: Hugh Brunt, featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra

Additional Violin: Stephanie Matthews

Additional Viola: Marta Honer

Additional Cello: Ro Rowan

Electric Bass: Emily Retsas

Guitar: Brandon Walters

Sitar: Bishi Bhattacharya

Drums: Aaron Steele

Percussion: Hal Rosenfeld 

Piano: Shruti Kumar

Synths: Shruti Kumar

Electronics: Shruti Kumar

Sampling, programming: Shruti Kumar

 Artwork: Anna Azarov & Ellie Pritts

This week’s episode of DECLASSIFY welcomes on board someone whose research and collaborative-interdisciplinary approach to music making has influenced my own practice since I attended her composition seminar as a Conservatoire student back in 2015. This is none other than prolific composer, musician, performer and noise artist and currently Professor of Music at Monash University, composer and performer Professor Cat Hope. Described by Gramaphone Magazine as “one of Australia’s most exciting and individual creative voices,” Cat creates music, art and performances that are conceptually driven ranging from animated graphic scores for acoustic and electronic combinations and for improvisation, with a fascination with low frequency sound. Paired with her research practice and her artistic direction of Decibel ensemble, Cat’s academic research engages with contemporary Australian music, digital music, noise music, gender equity and music technology. With such multi-faceted experience and expertise, this episode explores exclusive new music groups, how to break boundaries, the effect of marketing and what it means to make music collaboratively. 

Resources:

Cat Hope website: https://www.cathope.com/ 

https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/cat-hope 

FOLLOW DECLASSIFY: @declassifypodcast on instagram
CONNECT WITH VICTORIA: Instagram : @victoriaavpham

And it’s a new year! And we’re going back to the second half of Declassify Season 2. We’re straight into the grit of unpacking the classical music industry and where this is all headed in terms of strategizing change, contemplating collaboration in conservatoires and educational models as well having a think about broader funding models. There is no better person to consider that the prolific performer, director, researcher and now Principal at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the National Conservatoire of Wales, Professor Helena Gaunt. Helena was A professional oboist for many years and founding member of the Britten Sinfonia, her career in higher education has spanned teaching, academic development, research and enterprise. This episode unpacks the notion of the social role of the musician in society and how classical music education, funding and models can rise to this contemporary challenge. 

RESOURCES

Information about Professor Helena Gaunt: https://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/staff/helena-gaunt 

Articles about the BMus program:
BMus (Hons) Music - Instrumental and Vocal | Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (rwcmd.ac.uk) 

Paving the way: RWCMD's BMus | Music Teacher (musicteachermagazine.co.uk) 

Welcome back to Declassify Season 2 and we’re already on our last episode of this year! This week is someone quite remarkable and someone whose work I am sure many of you already know: Australian and Uk-based flautist, curator, educator and arts producer – Tamara Kohler. Tamara has performed and premiered countless new works of music for festivals around the worlf such as the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, Bang on a Can Festival and Darmstadt. She is the founding member and co-Artistic Director of contemporary ensemble, Rubiks Collective – an ensemble whose mission is about showcasing contemporary music rising Australian and international artists. She is also a curatorial member COMA, UK. Her passion for mentoring young artists, curating cross-art experiences and for contemporary new art music is boundless and in this episode, Tamara talks approaches to new music making, interdisciplinary practice and collaboration as education and access.

Resources:

Tamara’s Website: http://www.tamarakohler.com/about 

RUBIKS: https://rubikscollective.com/ 

COMA new music festival:  http://www.coma.org/ 

COMA new music repertoire catalogue: http://www.coma.org/catalogue/ 

Tamara’s Podcast MyThirdEar: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/my-third-ear/id1111802017

Article by Tamara ‘Concert Experience: Let’s Blur the Lines’: http://www.cutcommonmag.com/concert-experience-lets-blur-the-lines/ 

Article by Tamara ‘Creativity within Society’: https://musictrust.com.au/loudmouth/inside-the-musician-tamara-kohler-creativity-within-society/ 

And Declassify returns! We’re already halfway through this season, so quickly! This week the podcast welcomes none other than cross-genre whiz and interdisciplinary extraordinary, composer, performer, producer and curator Danielle Eva Schwob. Currently based across New York City and Los Angeles, Danielle is a staggeringly active artist and musician across multiple forms and disciplines. Her music has been featured at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! and Philip Glass’s MATA Festival, just to name few. In this episode Danielle discusses her interdisciplinary practice and recent works and how they sit outside, through and within the discipline of classical music and how contemporary  “classical” music is expanding its boundaries and begins to bleed into new territory. In fact, this episode asks of us – do we even need to call it classical music anymore?

RESOURCES

Danielle’s website: https://danielleevaschwob.com/ 

Out of the Tunnel Music Video (Movement I: Fast): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3JSbti93YQ&t=44s 

OVERLOADED Album (2020) by DELANILA: https://open.spotify.com/album/511OUWlIwxmbYnmJxGJbtf 

A piece that Danielle wrote for the Strad:

https://www.thestrad.com/playing-and-teaching/how-i-write-for-strings-composer-danielle-eva-schwob/13459.article

Written piece by Danielle for New Music USA: 

https://newmusicusa.org/nmbx/author/danielleschwob/

It's already episode 4 for this season, and today DECLASSIFY welcomes onboard the remarkable activist, tenor, composer and musicologist Jeremy Dutcher. Jeremy's music transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home,and teeming with the urgency of modern-day struggles of resistance. A member of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Jeremy first did music studies in Halifax before taking a chance to work in the archives at the Canadian Museum of History, painstakingly transcribing Wolastoq songs from 1907 wax cylinders. As he listened to each recording, he felt his own musical impulses stirring from deep within. Long days at the archives turned into long nights at the piano, feeling out melodies and phrases, deep in dialogue with the voices of his ancestors. These “collaborative”compositions, collected together on his debut LP Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, are like nothing you’ve ever heard.  Listen to this episode as Jeremy and Victoria unpack the practices of listening deeply, bringing Indigenous voices to the table and the challenges of rematriation and repatriation.

RESOURCES
Jeremy Dutcher: https://jeremydutcher.com/about/

Listen and Purchase to Jeremy's album 'Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonama' : https://jeremydutcher1.bandcamp.com/album/wolastoqiyik-lintuwakonawa

Keeping Language Alive: https://thewalrus.ca/how-jeremy-dutcher-keeps-his-ancestors-language-alive/

An Interview with Jeremy Dutcher: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/26/jeremy-dutcher-interview-canada-first-nation-indigenous-arias

Pauline Oliveros 'Sonic Meditations' Downloadable here: https://monoskop.org/images/0/09/Oliveros_Pauline_Sonic_Meditations_1974.pdf

Oliveros 'Listening as Activism': https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/listening-as-activism-the-sonic-meditations-of-pauline-oliveros 

Welcome back to Declassify Season 2! I am so pleased to welcome you all back to this new season, and most importantly, to begin this following season with a host of international guests and conversations. I am so pleased, not only to have returned, but to welcome Declassify’s third guest for the season, pioneering percussionist Claire Edwardes. Claire is a leading percussionist working as a soloist, recording performer and chamber musician and is the current Artistic Director of Ensemble Offspring. She is a forefront figure for the commissioning and performance of contemporary Australian music having premiered works by composers such as Harrison Birtwistle and Elena Kats-Chernin. Claire remains the only Australian to have won the ‘APRA Art Music Award for Excellence’ by an individual three times. Across this episode, Victoria and Claire unpack the myth of meritocracy, new programming, educational models and the need to break the cycles of sonic conditioning. 

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RESOURCES

Claire’s Website: https://www.claireedwardes.com/

Limelight Claire’s article: https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/ensemble-offspring-embracing-the-new-and-unknown/?fbclid=IwAR1DJ91HVCmDLPb5TS0suIDUeBjbamt4wxRW4FCgYJOb01QpJvSScbU12FQ 

Claire’s Resources for Composers: https://www.claireedwardes.com/resourcesforcomposers 

Claire’s Female Composition List: https://www.claireedwardes.com/femalecompositionlist 

Ensemble Offspring: https://ensembleoffspring.com/ 

Keychange EU: https://www.keychange.eu/ 

And we return with Episode 2 of this season’s Declassify. This time this episode features none other than pioneering music educator and internationally renowned and Grammy nominated violinist, Robert McDuffie. Robert is the co-founder and artistic director of the Rome Festival for Chamber Music, and the founder for the McDuffie Institute of Strings at Mercer University – a unique course for musicians offering holistic training in music, liberal arts and business. In this episode, Robert talks about the need to reform the strucutres of the classical music industry, the significance of business acumen in the world of music and making a move towards self-governance during this crisis of classical music.
 
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Robert McDuffie Website: https://robertmcduffie.com/ 

McDuffie Centre for Strings: Mercer University -  https://sacksco.com/pr/mcduffie_center_for_strings.html