From coast to coast, 2018 was filled with new friends, new sounds, and a whole slew of new adventures. We share some of Second Inversion’s fondest memories from another year spent exploring new and experimental music.

NUMUS Northwest: The Other Side of the Inbox

Second Inversion hosts Maggie Molloy and Seth Tompkins were honored to lead a panel on new music in the media at this year’s NUMUS Northwest, a day-long event dedicated to the creation and performance of new music in Seattle and beyond.

Photo by James Holt.

Third Coast Percussion Paddles to the Sea

Skittering wood blocks, ceramic tiles, and bowls of water are just a few of the unusual instruments employed in Third Coast Percussion’s film score for Paddle to the Sea. We were thrilled to premiere videos of the group performing excerpts from their original score, which was co-commissioned by Meany Center for the Performing Arts and performed there earlier this year.

David Lang’s Symphony without a Hero

Second Inversion invaded the Classical KING FM airwaves earlier this year when David Lang came by the station to talk about the Seattle Symphony’s world premiere of his symphony without a hero. Maggie Molloy interviewed the composer about the Romantic ideals of the artist-hero and how those roles are changing in the 21^st century.

24-Hour Marathon of Women Composers

On International Women’s Day, we hosted our annual 24-hour marathon of music by women composers. Part of our ongoing Women in (New) Music series, the marathon highlights women who have helped shape, inspire, and expand the world of classical music, and is among our most popular streaming days annually.

Ashley Bathgate Video Premiere

Bang on a Can All-Star Ashley Bathgate is her own one-woman cello orchestra in Martin Bresnick’s Parisot. She performed the piece live in our music library earlier this year (alongside 11 backing tracks she recorded herself) before sitting down with Second Inversion’s Dacia Clay to talk about the intersection of classical music and contemporary performance software.

John Luther Adams Marathon

Thanks to the Seattle Symphony’s highly-anticipated world premiere of John Luther Adams’ Become Desert, we had the perfect excuse to play a full eight hours of his immersive sonic landscapes on our online stream. Plus, the composer himself dropped by the station during our marathon for an interview with KING FM’s Dave Beck and a selfie with the Second Inversion team.

Snapshots from the Bang on a Can Summer Festival

Second Inversion’s Maggie Molloy was among four writers selected to cover the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival as a participant in the first ever Media Workshop! Under the mentorship of John Schaefer (of WNYC’s New Sounds) and Will Robin (writer and musicologist), Maggie wrote five articles highlighting unforgettable musical moments from this year’s summer festival.

: Bang on a Can Founders David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon with SI’s Maggie Molloy.

: Bang on a Can Fellows Shannon Leigh Steigerwald (violin) and Gloria Yehilevsky (percussion).

: Special guest composer Steve Reich.

: Bang on a Can cover night.

: Bang on a Can All-Star Vicky Chow performing the Philip Glass Etudes.

: Students performing Pamela Z’s “Attention.”

: Mark Stewart, guitarist of the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

: Afternoon concert of Eve Beglarian’s music.

: Bang on a Can Fellow Dylan Ward.

: MASS MoCA’s Gunnar Schonbeck exhibit titled “No Experience Required.”

: The four media fellows of the inaugural Media Workshop.

: Mark Stewart leading his Orchestra of Original Instruments.

: Members of the Media Workshop performing in the Orchestra of Original Instruments.

Joshua Roman’s Tornado

Joshua Roman brought the howling winds of Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest with the world premiere of his new cello quintet Tornado, performed by the composer alongside the JACK Quartet. We holed up inside for a day with the ensemble to catch the musical storm on camera.

Adventures in New York

As the year drew to a close, we got a chance to catch up with new music makers and creators on the opposite coast. During our trip we sat in on a live session at New Sounds, saw the Argus Quartet perform music of Christopher Cerrone, caught the Bang on a Can All-Stars playing Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields at Carnegie Hall, and more!

: Bang on a Can All-Stars playing Anthracite Fields. Photo by Richard Termine.

: Live session at New Sounds.

: Pianist Kelly Moran preparing her piano for a live session at New Sounds.

: New Sounds’ John Shaefer with pianist Kelly Moran.

: Argus Quartet preparing to perform.

: Argus Quartet with Christopher Cerrone.

Thank you to everyone who filled our hearts, minds, ears, and airwaves with new music in 2018. Cheers to the many more sonic adventures yet to come!

SECOND INVERSION

A home for new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre, brought to you by the power of public media. Second Inversion is a service of Classical KING FM 98.1.

Second Inversion’s 2018 Year in Review