Interview with Maya Youssef, the world-renowned kanun master and innovative British-Syrian educator. The podcast and video versions are linked here. Maya shares with us how her frustrations with the traditional teaching of Arabic music led her to develop her unique system for teaching musicians and dancers in a completely different way. She also shared her past personal crisis as a victim of domestic abuse and how she found the strength to get out of that danger, which is shockingly pervasive. In fact, she said that she chooses to be vulnerable in sharing this because we never know who is listening. 

You will be uplifted with clips from Maya’s beautiful second album Finding Home, which I encourage you to buy, and you’ll find all Maya’s projects linked in her website in the show notes of this podcast. She also talked to me about her exciting upcoming projects in 2026, including her book about learning and teaching Arabic music, her upcoming album and tours, and her wonderful collaborators. Maya spent the interview with her kanun and you’ll hear her demonstrate several times, including a beautiful improvisation on maqam rast. 

Karen Power is an Irish composer who uses environmental sounds and acoustic instruments in her intriguing work. She is a master field recordist who has recorded sounds in some of the worlds most isolated and challenging locations including The Arctic, Amazon, Namib Desert, Outback Australia, and Antarctica. This is the transcript of my interview with her, and linked are the podcast and video versions. She has shared clips of her work including The Bats of Namibia, Frogs of Angor Wat, fascinating bog sounds and arctic ice sounds in collaborations with the Quiet Music Ensemble and many brilliant collaboraters on her project human nature.  She’s also shared with us a raw field recording from her recent trip to record a double cicada brood emergence. She certainly helped deepen my awareness to soundscapes that brought me back to my first encounter with this idea when I took a course on Soundscapes from R. Murray Shafer. Karen and I also talked about her projects working to explore listeneing, composing and improvising with young children and other related projects to provide inclusive music making with people living with disabiliities. 

Transcript of interview with singer Olcay Bayir. The podcast and video versions are linked here. Olcay is an extraordinary British singer-songwriter of Kurdish Alevi origin, originally from Turkey. Olcay opens up about the challenges of immigrating as a teenager, her classical training in opera, and how she has forged her own unique musical path.

You’ll hear clips from her 2024 album Tu Gulî, along with selections from her earlier projects, featuring songs in several languages. Her rich voice and evocative arrangements breathe new life into Anatolian folk traditions, offering a vibrant and powerful reimagining of this timeless music.

In our conversation, Olcay shares:

• Insights into Alevi culture and spirituality

• How she honours the strength and stories of Anatolian women

• her creative process and inspiration from masterful collaborators 

Joel Styzens is a composer and  multi-instrumentalist whose career as a drummer was transformed due to sudden hearing damage. He talked to me about dealing with the physical and psychological effets of hyperacusis and tinnitus, the beauty of hammered dulcimer, and you’ll hear clips from his first 2 albums Relax Your Ears and Resonance. He’s a music educator who loves to help students to make discoveries on their own and we spoke about Joel’s passion for all kinds of artistic expression, and his positive recent experience at the Ragdale Artist residency. Joel’s personal story is so inspiring, and his music is so beautiful! The podcast and video formats are linked here to this transcript.

The transcript to my 2025 interview with Canadian pianist and writer Heather Taves; the video, podcast and show notes are linked. Heather is also a composer, improviser, and educator.She spoke to me about her unique and inspiring Beethoven Journey, her popular weekly blog which she started in 2023 , paired with performances of all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. We talked about getting to know Beethoven as a person and her fascinating research about many women that are part of this history. We also talked about Heather’s work as an educator, developing creativity and approaching teaching music from different angles. She spoke about her mentors including pianist Gil Kalish and writer Diane Shoemperlen, and her experiences travelling around the world by herself. 

Transcript to my interview with multi-style violinist and composer Alisa Rose. The podcast and video versions are linked here. In this episode we’re shining a light on her wonderful new album with mandolinist Tristan Scroggins, Speranza. You’ll hear about how she found her way to such an interesting and diverse career from learning Old-Time music from retired farmers in Wisconsin as a child to classical training with the legendary Camilla Wicks at the San Francisco Conservatory, where she’s come full circle as a teacher. Alisa shared wonderful insights into teaching music, including body awareness and using creativity prompts in her improvisation classes. She shared powerful experiences from her tour in Eastern Europe as an Ambassador of the State Department, and advice about the benefits of organizing house concerts. 

Interview with clarinetist Tasha Warren; the podcast and video are linked. Tasha Warren  is an acclaimed clarinetist who has premiered over one hundred solo clarinet and chamber works. In this podcast you’ll hear excerpts from her album “Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed” a fantastic collaboration with cellist Dave Eggar of newly commissioned and premiered Bass Clarinet and Cello works, which earned two Grammy nominations. If you listened to my episode with Meg Okura last year, you heard a bit about this project, and Meg’s episode is linked in the show notes if you missed it. Dr. Warren is Assistant Professor of Chamber Music at Michigan State University and the principal clarinet faculty of Mostly Modern Festival and you’ll hear her valuable and candid perspectives on a life as an educator, concert presenter and also the challenges of balancing such a full professional life with that of being a mom. You’ll also hear about her unique musical trip to India sponsored by Pitch Pipe organized by Jennifer Heemstra, among several inspiring projects in this wide-ranging episode. In this episode you’ll be hearing music by Nathalie Joachim, Paquito D’rivera, Martha Redbone Pascal Le Boeuf and Cornelius Boots.

Transcript to my interview with Naomi Moon Siegel; the podcast and video versions are linked here. Naomi Moon Siegel is an award-winning trombonist, improvisor, composer and educator. In this episode we’re highlighting her beautiful sextet album Shatter the Glass Sanctuary, and you’ll hear her reflections on the valuable mentorship process with Allison Miller and brilliant collaborators including Marina Albero and Ray Larsen. Naomi reflected on her journey finding a supportive musical community, overcoming injury, and how she’s advocated for intersectional gender justice for many years through her workshops for fellow educators and music students.  We talked about some of her mentors including Kristen Strom, Wayne Horwitz, and her duo project the Syrinx Effect with Kate Olson. Naomi shared how her career path has been shaped by personal decisions and outlook,  some of her experiences on several inspiring trips, as well as how she’s able to find grounding and inspiration in both her new physical landscape in Montana and her new emotional landscape as a parent.