Category Archives: Studio Visits

VIDEO PREMIERE: ‘In the Mornin’ by The Westerlies

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by Maggie Molloy

From jazzy tunes to folk and blues, the Westerlies can reimagine just about any style of music for brass quartet. In our latest Second Inversion in-studio session, they performed their own rendition Charles Ives’ “In the Mornin’,” a setting of the traditional spiritual “Give Me Jesus.”

Ives first heard the bittersweet melody in 1929, sung unaccompanied by Mary Evelyn Stiles, and was inspired to arrange the song for voice and piano. The Westerlies took Ives’ tune one step further, rearranging the music for the warm, brassy tones of two trumpets and two trombones.

“As Ives lent his own harmonic sensibility to the original melody, we took some harmonic liberties of our own in this arrangement,” they said. In keeping with the spirit of the music, they also added moments of improvisation, including a radiant trumpet solo by Chloe Rowlands.

We’re thrilled to premiere our video of the Westerlies performing their rendition of “In the Mornin’.”

Want more music from the Westerlies? Click here for another video from this session.

NW Focus LIVE: Jesse Myers | Friday, Oct. 11, 8pm

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by Peter Tracy

Photo by James Holt. Jesse Myers performs LIVE on KING FM on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm.

Whether he’s playing the prepared piano music of John Cage or creating immersive audio-visual experiences at the Good Shepherd Center, Jesse Myers is a pianist who is always up for a challenge.

As a performer with wide-ranging interests, Myers frequently performs music that expands the piano in some way—sometimes through live electronics or even lighting design. He is equally interested in performing more traditional repertoire in unusual contexts, such as pairing the music of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Cage. Later this month, you can catch him tackling Morton Feldman’s sparse yet monumental Triadic Memories, a performance that continues his project of exploring new repertoire and pushing the boundaries of his instrument.

And this weekend, you can hear him perform LIVE on Classical KING FM. Tune in for NW Focus LIVE on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm as Myers performs a characteristically broad range of music, including Beat Furrer’s mysterious and atmospheric “Voicelessness: The Snow Has No Voice,” Christopher Cerrone’s tribute to the New York nightscape titled “Hoyt-Schemerhorn,” and more familiar works by Rachmaninoff, Philip Glass, and John Adams.

Jesse Myers performs LIVE on Classical KING FM on Friday, Oct. 11 at 8pm. Click here to tune in.

VIDEO PREMIERE: ‘Robert Henry’ by The Westerlies

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by Peter Tracy

The Westerlies take us on an upbeat journey through early childhood with their performance of “Robert Henry,” an original composition by the ensemble’s trombonist Andy Clausen.

“Written shortly after the birth of my first nephew, ‘Robert Henry’ aims to lovingly capture the vibrant energy that a new member of the family contributes,” Clausen says. At times groovy and melodic, at other times rhythmically complex and jazzy, the Westerlies capture the excitement and hopeful energy of early childhood—as well as some of its unexpected turns.

We’re proud to premiere our in-studio video of the Westerlies performing “Robert Henry.”

Want more music from the Westerlies? Click here for another video from this session.

re·create percussion on Classical KING FM | Friday, Sept. 20, 8pm

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by Peter Tracy

re·create percussion performs live on Classical KING FM 98.1 on Friday, Sept. 20 from 8-9pm PT. Click here to tune in from anywhere in the world.

re·create percussion is an ensemble on a mission. With mallets in hand, the duo serves up well-crafted and sparkling performances on marimba and vibraphone that range from reimagined classics to bold new compositions (and even a few pop arrangements).

You can find the duo, which consists of Rebekah Ko and Storm Benjamin, performing at a wide variety of new music events around the region, such as the recent Good Vibes Only concert in Washington Hall or with the Seattle-based Sound Ensemble. Whether as part of a larger ensemble or as a duo, re·create has been active in sharing their love of percussion music with their community and find ways to bring new listeners into the fold. Since their founding in 2017, the duo has brought energy, skill, and elegance to repertoire ranging from Steve Reich to Ed Sheeran.

This Friday at 8pm PT, we’re lucky to have the dynamic duo in the KING FM studios on NW Focus LIVE, where they’ll be treating us to a program featuring Ivan Trevino’s entrancing “2+1,” Anders Koppel’s lively Toccata for Vibraphone and Marimba, Ryan Elvert’s evocative “Ocean Dances” (written specifically for the duo), a reimagined Ed Sheeran classic, and an original re·create composition. Click here to tune in.

Kinan Azmeh: Meeting Injustice with Creativity and Collaboration

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by Dave Beck

Photo by Connie Tsang.

On our Seattle Symphony Spotlight this week: a conversation with one of Yo Yo Ma’s good friends and collaborators in the Silk Road Ensemble.

Kinan Azmeh is a Syrian-born clarinetist last in Seattle two years ago for the Seattle Symphony’s “Music Beyond Borders” concert. That performance—which featured artists from the seven countries that were part of the Muslim travel ban of early 2017—featured Kinan playing two movements of his Suite for Improviser and Orchestra with Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony.

At that time Kinan Azmeh made plans to come back and present another new work that defies musical boundaries: a full-length clarinet concerto that blends the spontaneity of improvisation with through-composed music. That concert came to fruition earlier this week in Benaroya Hall when he performed the piece’s world premiere with the Seattle Symphony and members of the Silk Road Ensemble, conducted by Ludovic Morlot.

Kinan came by the station to talk about the new concerto, reflect on growing up in Syria, and express what performing in Seattle and at refugee camps around the world has meant to him.