Author

Julia Kuhlman

Julia Kuhlman (she/her) is a saxophonist and musicologist who makes unnatural noises and writes outlandish things about them. She is currently based in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
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Claire Chase -- Photo by Karen Chester

Claire Chase Explores Minutiae and Ubiquity in Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s “UBIQUE”

In Edgard Varèse’s Density 21.5, a solo flutist pushes and shoves through ever widening intervallic...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Arlene and Larry Dunn -- Photo by Tanya Rosen-Jones

5 Questions to Arlene and Larry Dunn about the Fund for Afrodiasporic Music

In a 2023 concert review of the International Contemporary Ensemble featuring composer-performer Dou...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Lucy Chen, Sean Shepherd, and Lili Masoudi-Namazi -- Photo by Fadi Kheir

5 Questions to Sean Shepherd (composer) about NYO-USA’s Composer Apprentice program

From Tanglewood to Interlochen and beyond, summer programs supplement school-year music education by...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Sokio -- Photo by Catalina Kulczar

5 Questions to Sokio (composer) about “Paraíso”

Through the late 90s and early aughts, composer Sokio wrote several operas in quick succession. But...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
2022 Hildegard Commission Winners--Photo courtesy of National Sawdust

5 Questions to the 2022 Hildegard Commission Winners

As composition competitions have come under closer scrutiny for their age biases and even exploitati...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Finola Merivale--Photo by Emma O'Halloran

5 Questions to Finola Merivale (composer)

Tús, the debut album by Irish composer Finola Merivale, engages listeners with an experimental langu...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Chris Williams and Leo Chang Unnameable Element

On “Unnameable Element,” Chang and Williams Forge Experimental Soundscapes

As self-identified experimentalists, Leo Chang (voice/electronics) and Chris Williams (trumpet) use...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Han Chen--Photo by Zhenwei Liu

5 Questions to Han Chen about Migration Music

When pianist Han Chen moved from Taiwan to the United States, it didn’t take long for him to become...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
fivebyfive Of and Between

Of and Between: fivebyfive Draws Connections Between Music and Visual Art

In the world of visual art, perspective is what shows us how objects in a piece are related; it’s th...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Elly Kace Nothing I see means anything

Elly Kace Pleasantly Disorients Listeners on “Nothing I see means anything”

The first ten seconds of Elly Kace’s new album provokes a question that listeners will find themselv...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Quinteto Latino

Quinteto Latino Showcases the Diversity of Latin Identity with New Works

At a roundtable discussion in early June 2021, Quinteto Latino’s founder and director Armando Castel...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Holland Andrews Museum of Calm--Screenshot courtesy Baryshnikov Arts Center

Holland Andrews’ “Museum of Calm” Meditates on Chaos and Realignment

There’s a moment in Holland Andrews’ video introduction to Museum of Calm where their brow tenses an...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Naomi Perera and Adam Langley Strata

On Strata, Perera and Langley Create an Exquisite Corpse of Sound

When most musicians talk about “playing” music, what they mean is “performing.” But for improvisers...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Cris Derksen, Isidora Nojkovic, Olivia Shortt, and Aliayta Foon-Dancoes--Screenshot courtesy of the artists

Cross-Continental “Orbit” Features New Works by Indigenous Composers

On October 18, 2020, audiences across multiple time zones gathered to watch cellist Isidora Nojkovic...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
From Our World to Yours

From Our World to Yours: Gao Hong and Issam Rafea Improvise Vibrant Soundworlds

As a duo, Gao Hong and Issam Rafea plan only two things about their performances: when and where. Th...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
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Brooklyn Rider’s Healing Modes: New Works in Dialogue with the Past

It’s not just in writing or interpreting music that we consider time and place—listening is an act o...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
yMusic Ecstatic Science

“Delightfully Clamorous:” yMusic’s Ecstatic Science (New Amsterdam)

For a band that plays to sold-out stadiums alongside musicians like Paul Simon, Bon Iver, and Ben Fo...
Author
Julia Kuhlman
Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

Whose Pulitzer Prize? Reception History Behind the Brand-Name Prestige

There is nothing quite like the annual announcement of the Pulitzer Prize for Music to inspire skept...
Author
Julia Kuhlman

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