Stories

NoteWorthy is a series of audio stories created to broaden our view of classical music by shining a light on the lives and music of artists of color, women, and others from historically underrepresented groups. Each episode provides an introduction to an artist, performing ensemble, musicians, or composer from all eras and genres of classical music. In a couple of minutes, you can learn about the contributions these artists have made and are making to the art form while discovering some great music along the way.

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Rhiannon Giddens

From the Hungarian folk Dances of Johannes Brahms, to the Negro Folk symphony by William Levi Dawson, the idea of folk music being classical is age old. There have been countless composers and performers who've utilized folk aesthetics to make a name for themselves, and this tradition lives on, even today. Howdy - I'm Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy I'd like to feature one of today's most innovative folk musicians - a woman named Rhiannon Giddens.

Daniel Bernard Roumain

Classical music isn’t something that includes culture - classical music is culture. It's something that the composer of this work both understands and applies to his musical creativity. Hi there - I'm Loki Karuna and on this edition of NoteWorthy I'd like to turn your attention to the one and only Daniel Bernard Roumain.

Shawn Okpebholo

When you hear the phrase, "American Folk Music", what comes to mind immediately? Maybe music that involves a banjo, hand clappin' and foot stompin', or something of that variety, right? Well you'd be correct in thinking of it in that way, but it's definitely not all that lives within the sub-genre of American folk music. Hello - I'm Loki Karuna, and on this edition of NoteWorthy I'd like to highlight a composer who's making great strides toward showcasing the rich and diverse history of folk music in the United States - a man named Shawn Okpebholo.

Nina Simone

Within the music industry, more and more people are beginning to engage the idea of classical music in a broader, more inclusive way. By celebrating things like soul, blues, and jazz as equally classical to our lived musical experiences, the door is opened not only for those who are expanding the genre today, but for those who worked to do so in the past, as well. Hey y'all - I'm Loki Karuna, and on today's edition of NoteWorthy I'd like to celebrate one of the greatest classical musicians to ever live - the one and only Nina Simone.

Julia Perry

If you take a really deep dive into the western classical repertoire, you'll find that there are tons of compositions that highlight the intersections of music and other disciplines, like cuisine, geography, and even architecture. Well among the composers who have created music at these junctures is a Black woman who you may have never heard of. Hello - I'm Loki Karuna, and on this edition of NoteWorthy I'd like to introduce you to composer Julia Perry.

Chloe Flower

Pianists who create music inspired by their cultural surroundings have been around, well, since there were pianos! This was true for Brahms, for Franz Liszt, for Mozart - just about anyone you can think of, and the tradition has continued into the 21st century. Hey y'all - I'm Loki Karuna and on this edition of NoteWorthy I'd like to introduce to you one of my favorite contemporary pianists - the one and only Chloe Flower.

Robert Nathaniel Dett

Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries here in the United States, the story for countless Afro-Americans has been the journey from the south, to the north. Well for one composer, the journey was the exact opposite. On this edition of Noteworthy, Loki Karuna draws your attention to a man who not only traveled to the south for the sake of Black folk, but did so by utilizing the power of music. A man named Robert Nathaniel Dett.

Vicente Lusitano

Who was the first Black composer to make it to your classical radar? Probably Duke Ellington, Florence Price, or William Grant Still, right? Well while they, and many others, were among the first Black people to do many things, none of them were by any means the first. On today's edition of Noteworthy, I'd like to introduce you to a Black man who was composing music all the way back in the 1500s, if you can believe it! A man named Vicente Lusitano.

Jennifer Higdon

Have you ever thought about how important wood is to classical music? You need it to build instruments, to create stages and theater seating...you even need it to write pieces of music like this one. Well, at least, the composer needed it. On this edition of Noteworthy I invite you to check out this wooden work by a composer whose career is as solid as any giant oak or sycamore - a woman named Jennifer Higdon.

Carlos Simon

Do you remember May of the year 2020? It was a time that I know you and I will never forget, but it's also a time that generations to come will always remember as well, thanks, in part, to this piece of music. Hi there - my name's Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy, I'd like to shine a light on the composer of this work - a man named Carlos Simon.

Flutronix

You've heard that two heads are better than one, but what about two head-joints? Classical music duos come in all shapes and sizes, and that includes this dynamic duo from the flute world. Hi there - I'm Garrett McQueen and on this edition of Noteworthy I'd like to shine a light on Flutronix.

"Blind Tom" Wiggins

The song known as “Dixie” can be a grim, and even hurtful reminder of America’s dark past, but for one enslaved Afro-American, that tune was the source of inspiration, hope, and a musical career that few other enslaved individuals could ever experience. On this edition of Noteworthy, Garrett McQueen introduces someone remembered as Blind Tom Wiggins.

Nobuo Uematsu

Maybe you've heard an orchestral composition that really knows how to swing. Or, maybe you haven't. Either way, that music does exist, and composers from the US, Europe, and even East Asia have taken on the task of fusing symphonic sounds with American swing. On this edition of Noteworthy, Garrett McQueen introduces one composer who really knows how to swing - a man named Nobuo Uematsu.

Margaret Bonds

Sometimes, composers write music that's meant to sound like nature or busy, city streets. Others have written music that relays emotions or historical events. And then there's one woman, who wrote a work with protest at it's core. On this edition of NoteWorthy, Garrett McQueen shares Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds.

Raven Chacon

Since 1943, music has been among the Pulitzer Prizes awarded to some of America's most notable composers, including Aaron Copland, Jennifer Higdon, and even Duke Ellington. In 2022, the prize was awarded, for the very first time, to an indigenous composer. On this edition of Noteworthy, Garrett McQueen talks a little about that Indigenous composer - a man named Raven Chacon.

Black Violin

Classical training on instruments like the violin or the viola can easily pave the way for a musician to get to work with some of the finest orchestras in the world, but that's not the only place where classical training has led musicians. On this edition of Noteworthy, Garrett McQueen highlights a classically trained duo known as Black Violin.

Louis Chauvin

When something's a little ragged, you don't typically consider that a good thing, right? For example, ragged clothing may not be so great, but ragged rhythms have not only been celebrated, but revered as one of America's most prized contributions to the world of music. On this edition of NoteWorthy, Garrett McQueen revisits the ragged rhythms of a genre known as ragtime.

Joan Tower

In 1942, composer Aaron Copland gave the world a work called The Fanfare for the Common Man. This work would go on to inspire not only common men, but a few uncommon women. On this edition of NoteWorthy, Garrett McQueen introduces you to an uncommon woman named Joan Tower.

Samuel Coleridge Taylor

Over the course of history there have been countless individuals whose lives intersected with activism and social justice. Most have engaged that work with a very local approach, while others have done it with a more global perspective, with one of them, being a Black composer from England. On this edition of NoteWorthy, Garrett McQueen shines a light on a social justice minded composer named Samuel Coleridge Taylor.

Terence Blanchard

Some composers stick to the world of film music, while others prefer writing things like opera. And then there are some who have managed to do both. Hi there - my name is Garrett McQueen, and on this edition of Noteworthy, I'd like to re-introduce you to a composer named Terence Blanchard.

Jessie Montgomery

When you hear the word, composer, you might automatically think of someone who lived hundreds of years ago in a place across the Atlantic. But truth is, composer is a title that many people today carry with them. On this edition of NoteWorthy, host Garrett McQueen features one of the most celebrated composers of today: a woman named Jessie Montgomery.

Loki Karuna, Host

Credit: Devon Fails

Loki Karuna (formerly Garrett McQueen) is a bassoonist who has performed with orchestras across the country, including the Detroit Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He’s been heard as both a performer and guest host on APM’s “Performance Today”, and has continued his work as a producer and broadcaster with his nationally-syndicated programs including The Sound of 13, Gateways Radio, and The Sounds of Kwanzaa.

Away from the airwaves and performance stages, Loki specializes in music and racial equity presentations, with collaborators including the Gateways Music Festival, the Sphinx Organization, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater, the San Francisco Symphony, and countless schools, colleges, and universities. In the press, Loki has been noted as not only a “classical agitator,” but also “a Black talent in public media that you may not know, but should.” In 2021, the New York Times noted his weekly podcast, Trilloquy, as a standout and one that is “required listening for industry leaders and listeners alike.”

Loki Karuna holds music degrees from the University of Memphis and the University of Southern California. In addition to working as a musician and media producer, Loki is the Director of Artist Equity for the American Composers Orchestra and maintains leadership positions with the American Composers Forum, the Beethoven Festival Orchestra, the Black Opera Alliance, the Gateways Music Festival, the Cedar Cultural Center of Minneapolis, the Lakes Area Music Festival, and Soka Gakkai International.

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