
31+ years of bringing you the finest in the outer realms of new & classic multi-genre avant-garde music.
Episodes

Sunday Jun 11, 2017
CT Summerfest Interview Series: Gilda Lyons
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
Greetings!
Welcome to the return of the Pushing The Envelope Podcast! PTE and CT Summerfest are pleased to bring you the third in a series of interviews with the CT Summerfest ensembles-in residence and composer faculty. Today's podcast features an interview with CT Summerfest composer faculty member, Gilda Lyons.
Don't forget, PTE's radio presence continues for it's 27th year, airing on Saturdays from 11am to 2pm EST on WHUS / Storrs, CT (http://www.whus.org/listen-live).
Enjoy!
Joel
CT SUMMERFEST is a weeklong contemporary music festival for the education and career advancement of emerging composers and performers. The festival is comprised of seminars, lessons, rehearsals, and recording sessions for participants, as well as a free concert series open to the public, featuring ensembles-in-residence and new works by participant composers!
The concerts will take place from June 16-20 at The Hartt School's Berkman Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT.
All of Connecticut Summerfest's concerts are free to attend and open to the public. No advanced ticket reservation is required, and live streams are available!
GILDA LYONS, composer, vocalist, and visual artist, combines elements of renaissance, neo-baroque, spectral, folk, agitprop Music Theater, and extended vocalism to create works of uncompromising emotional honesty and melodic beauty. An active vocalist and fierce advocate of contemporary music, Dr. Lyons has commissioned, premiered, and workshopped new vocal works by dozens of composers.
She received her Ph.D. in Music Composition from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Bard College. Dr. Lyons made her professional debut as composer and vocalist with the American Symphony Chamber Orchestra in 1997, performing the world premiere of her orchestral song cycle "Feis."
As composer, current recording projects include the release of Lyons’ work by Quince and Entelechron in the upcoming season. Lyons’ vocal collaboration with Laura Ward will be released on Lyric Fest’s all-Hagen CD. Sing for Hope featured Lyons' Hold On on their most recent release, An AIDS Quilt Songbook. Lindsey Goodman's tour de force performance of Lyons' Chrysalis was released on Goodman's debut CD, reach through the sky. As composer and vocalist her works and performances are available on the Clarion, GPR Records, Naxos, New Dynamic Records, and Roven Records labels.
Dr. Lyons serves on the Board of Advisors of Composers Now and teaches composition at The Hartt School, University of Hartford. In addition, she is Artistic and Executive Director of The Phoenix Concerts, New York's "intrepid" and "plucky Upper West Side new-music series" (The New Yorker). Their mission is to offer excellent contemporary concert music of a broad stylistic range, commission new works by emerging and established composers and to remain committed to the inclusive nature of musical performance.
For further information, please visit www.gildalyons.com.

Tuesday May 02, 2017
CT Summerfest Interview Series: Ken Steen
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Greetings!
Welcome to the return of the Pushing The Envelope Podcast! PTE and CT Summerfest are pleased to bring you the second in a series of interviews with the CT Summerfest ensembles-in residence and composer faculty.
Don't forget, PTE's radio presence continues for it's 27th year, airing on Saturday mornings from 10am – 1pm EST on WHUS / Storrs, CT (http://www.whus.org/listen-live).
Enjoy!
Joel
CT SUMMERFEST is a weeklong contemporary music festival for the education and career advancement of emerging composers and performers. The festival is comprised of seminars, lessons, rehearsals, and recording sessions for participants, as well as a free concert series open to the public, featuring ensembles-in-residence and new works by participant composers!
The concerts will take place from June 16-20 at The Hartt School's Berkman Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT.
All of Connecticut Summerfest's concerts are free to attend and open to the public. No advanced ticket reservation is required, and live streams are available!
Ken Steen is a composer, sound artist and educator living in Glastonbury, CT. His music sits squarely on the frontier between the acoustic and electronic domains of musical expression; often combining traditional orchestra, chamber ensemble or soloist with electronic instruments or processed sound and noise. He is currently Professor of Composition and Theory, director of Studio D at the Hartt School, University of Hartford and member of the 2017 CT Summerfest composition faculty.
In addition to composing concert music in many forms, Steen has composed a wide variety of works both acoustic and electronic for sound installation, dance, theater and web-distribution. His music and soundworks have been featured on concert and radio programs throughout the U.S.A., Canada, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Australia, Cuba and Japan among others.
Steen's music can be found on the Capstone, Vienna Modern Masters, Auralit and CRI CD labels, as well as at www.kensteen.com, and is published by University of Arizona Publications, Harrock Hall Music as well as American Composers Edition.

Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
CT Summerfest Interview Series: Xelana Duo
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
Wednesday Apr 26, 2017
Greetings!
As the phoenix rises from the ashes, so returns the Pushing The Envelope Podcast! PTE's radio presence continues for it's 27yh year, airing on Saturday mornings from 10am – 1pm EST on WHUS / Storrs, CT (http://www.whus.org/listen-live).
PTE and CT Summerfest are pleased to bring you the first in a series of interviews with the CT Summerfest ensembles-in residence and composer faculty.
Enjoy!
Joel
CT SUMMERFEST is a weeklong contemporary music festival for the education and career advancement of emerging composers and performers. The festival is comprised of seminars, lessons, rehearsals, and recording sessions for participants, as well as a free concert series open to the public, featuring ensembles-in-residence and new works by participant composers!
The concerts will take place from June 16-20 at The Hartt School's Berkman Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT.
All of Connecticut Summerfest's concerts are free to attend and open to the public. No advanced ticket reservation is required, and live streams are available!
https://youtu.be/JrzF8r9vrxE
Xelana Duo balances the refinement of classical music while zigzagging through hip-hop, blues, flamenco, bollywood, and rock n' roll. The Duo surprises you with an unexpected instrumentation filled with vibrant shades, that are each dazzling on their own, but simply breathtaking when joined together. Daring these two instruments to have a conversation, Xelana Duo commissions electrifying works, creating an ice-breaker for this unusual collaboration of bassoon and saxophone.
Get to know Ana García Caraballos and Alex Davis, the artists behind Xelana Duo!

Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Episode 18: The Return of the Return of Pushing The Envelope Podcast (2-1-2014)
Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Greetings!Hi....remember Pushing The Envelope? The radio program version on WHUS / Storrs, CT (http://www.whus.org/listen-live) has continued on, but the rigors of graduate school put the brakes on the podcast. That period of my life has ended and so the return of the podcast. Any questions, let me know.Best wishes,Joel2-1-2014 PTE Playlist
Landler Land composer:
Daniel Goode Annbling New
World Records (2014)

Tuesday Sep 11, 2012
Episode 16: John Cage 100th Birthday PTE Podcast (9-8-12)
Tuesday Sep 11, 2012
Tuesday Sep 11, 2012
Greetings! Remember me?
While “Pushing The Envelope” has continued with its radio presence, airing on Saturday mornings from 10 – Noon EST on WHUS / Storrs, CT (tune in: http://www.whus.org/listen-live ). The podcast, on the other hand, has had to take a back seat to grad school. That being said, it’s not every day we have the opportunity celebrate John Cage’s 100th birthday.
Enjoy!
Joel
Episode 16: John Cage 100th Birthday PTE Podcast (9-8-12)
Dream / A Room composer: John Cage / piano: Bruce Brubaker Glass Cage Arabesque Recordings (2000)
The Seasons composer: John Cage / American Composers Orchestra, cond. Dennis Russell Davies The Seasons ECM New Series (2000)
Five / Songbooks Singer Pur Electric Seraphim KuK (1998)
4'33" - live radio performance composer: John Cage
Suite for Toy Piano composer: John Cage / toy piano: Stephen Drury In A Landscape Catalyst (1994)
Williams Mix (1952) John Cage OHM: the early gurus of electronic music Ellipsis Arts (1999)
Six (1991) composer: John Cage / percussion: Glenn Freeman Three2 / Twenty-Three / Six / Twenty-Six Ogre Ogress (1999) http://ogreogress.com/
One6 A (1990) composer: John Cage / violin: Christina Fong ONEviolin Ogre Ogress (1998) http://ogreogress.com/
In A Landscape composer: John Cage / piano: Margaret Leng Tan Musicworks #52 Musicworks (1992) http://www.musicworks.ca/
Sonatas I - IV for prepared piano composer: John Cage / prepared piano: Boris Berman Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano Naxos (1999) http://www.naxos.com

Thursday Dec 16, 2010
Episode 15: The Return of the Pushing The Envelope Podcast (11-4-2010)
Thursday Dec 16, 2010
Thursday Dec 16, 2010
Greetings!
Yes, it's been a while. I just finished my first semester of grad school this morning and this is the first nano-second I've had to devote some time to getting a new podcast up here. Thanks to all the new listeners and subscribers who've arrived in my absence and also to those folks who've been so patient in waiting for the arrival of Episode 15.
I am particularly fond of this show since it's got a bunch of things that are my favorites. Let me know what you think.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Happy & Healthy New Year!
Joel
Episode 15: Pushing The Envelope Podcast
Dead Elvis - composer: Michael Dauhgerty / bassoon: Charles Ullery - London Sinfonietta cond. David Zinman - American Icons - Argo (1998)
http://www.michaeldaugherty.net/
Matchmaker - composer: Jerry Bock (R.I.P.) / The Residents - Knitting On The Roof - Knitting Factory Records
http://www.ink19.com/issues_F/00_03/wet_ink/music_im/085_knitting_on_the_roof.shtml
Scenes From The Electric Circus -Djam Karet - Reflections from the Firepool - HC Prod. (1989)
http://www.djamkaret.com/disc-rftp.php
Duck Blind - Paul Dresher Ensemble - Slow Fire - Minmax (1993)
http://www.dresherensemble.org/
Frog A le Peche - Charles Carpenter - Frog A Le Peche - Caterwaul (1994)
http://www.charlescarpenter.net/index.html
Hyperballad - Travis Sullivan's Bjokestra - Enjoy! - KOCH (2008)
http://www.bjorkestra.com
Sabbath Prayer - Uri Cane - Knitting On The Roof - Knitting Factory Records
http://www.ink19.com/issues_F/00_03/wet_ink/music_im/085_knitting_on_the_roof.shtml
She Said - T - Naive - Galileo Records (2002)
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=4855
Anchor - Lonely Universe - A La Plage - Rant (1993)
http://www.nette.ca/rantjazz/biolu.htm
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (OST) -Milan (1994)
http://www.sitesakamoto.com/
Fugue for Sam (1989) - Michael Horwood - Motility - Furiant Records (2000)
http://www.horwoodcomposer.com/
The Fog Of War - Philip Glass - The Fog of War (OST) - Orange Mountain Music (2003)
http://www.philipglass.com/
From the North - Philharmonie - Nord - Cuneiform Records (1994)
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5214
Stub - composer: Gram Fitkin / Dleta Saxophone Quartet - Facing Death - FMR Records (2002)
http://www.fitkin.com/
Ground Zero -Tom Heasley - Where the Earth Meets the Sky - Hypnos (2001)
http://tomheasley.com/

Saturday Aug 21, 2010
Episode 13: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (6-24-10)
Saturday Aug 21, 2010
Saturday Aug 21, 2010
Greetings!
So, now we're a baker's dozen episodes in and there's 283 of you fine folks on board worldwide as subscribers. Again, many thanks! I hope you're enjoying the programs and should you have any suggestions or comments as to what you're hearing or what you'd like to hear, please feel free to get in touch.
Until next time,
Take care.
Joel
Now Playing: Messenger of the Sun - Cyrille Verdeaux
http://www.clearlight888music.com/catalog.htm
Episode 13 PTE Playlist
Inverting The Sphere - Eric Glick Rieman - Trilogy From The Outside - self-release (2009)
http://www.myspace.com/ericglickrieman
Aime Moie - Etans Donnes - Bleu - STAALPLAAT (1993)
http://etant-donnes.com
Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum - composer: Harrison Birtwistle / ensemble: Alarm Will Sound - A/rhythmia - Nonesuch (2009)
http://www.alarmwillsound.com/recordings.html
Porcelain - Demians - Mute - InsideOut Music (2010)
http://www.myspace.com/demiansmusic
Fractured Bronze - Marc Barreca - Subterranean - Palace of Lights (2010)
http://www.palaceoflights.com
Abandoned Mines - Barry Cleveland - Hologramatron - Moonjune Records (2010)
http://www.barrycleveland.com/
Le Provence - 7 for 4 - Contact Streetlife Studios (2001)
http://www.7for4.de
broken aphorism_15 [-=] - Anti-Social Music - Fracture: The Music of Pat Muchmore Innova (2010)
http://www.patmuchmore.com/FractureCD.html
Journey Stars Beyond - Sun Ra And His Omniverse Jet-set Arkestra - Detroit Jazz Center 1980 Art Yard (2010)
http://www.reusa.com
Aviation - Elephant9 - Walk The Nile - Rune Gramofon (2010)
http://www.runegrammofon.com/artists/elephant9/rcd-2095-elephant9_-walk-the-nile
Heyday - Kombinat M - Hybrid Beat - Cuneiform Records (1993)
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2598
Material Real - Allan Holdsworth - Road Games - Warner Bros. (1983)
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5287
Plasmodium Falciparum - Local 7 - Substrat - Musea (2002)
http://www.dprp.net/reviews/0211.htm
In The Darkness - Steven Schoenberg - Live: An Improvisational Journey - JKN (2010)
http://www.stevenschoenberg.com/

Friday Aug 06, 2010
Episode 12: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (6-17-10)
Friday Aug 06, 2010
Friday Aug 06, 2010
Greetings!
I've been quite busy, to say the least. Finished up my employment with the U.S. Census, purchased my books for school which starts in a couple of weeks and have started my reading in the glorious field of Speech/Language Pathology. (A recommended course of action for those, like myself, have been out of the world of graduate academia since the 80's.)
Arguably, more important, attending two wonderful shows at MASS MOCA featuring the Bang On A Can Summer Music Festival (http://bangonacan.org/summer_festival). First was a celebration of International George Crumb Day which featured an afternoon gallery performance of "Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III)" for 2 pianos and 2 percussionists, followed by a concert performance which included Crumb's string quartet, "Black Angels".
The following weekend was the 6 hour Bang On A Can Marathon. Highlights for me included performances of: Tom Johnson's, "Narayana's Cows", Ted Hearne's, "Katrina Ballads", Michael Gordon's. "Yo, Shakespeare", and Steve Reich's, "Double Sextet". Should you have the opportunity to attend, it would certainly be worth your time. (Here is a listing of the full summer festival performance schedule: http://bangonacan.org/summer_festival/performance_calendar )
As always, please tell your friends about "Pushing The Envelope", the more subscribers, the merrier. (Don't forget to check us out on Facebook and MySpace.)
Until next time,
Take care,
Joel
Now onto this week's playlist:
Episode 12: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (6-17-10)
Birds & Machines (machine suite) /Gen Ken Montgomery / Birds & Machines (1980 - 1989) / Pogus Productions (2010)
http://www.pogus.com
Track 1 / Green Flem / Unstable Hairy Back Melodies (2009)
http://www.myspace.com/imgreenflem
hommage / K. Leimer / degraded certainties / Palace of Lights (2010)
http://www.palaceoflights.com
Chole and the Pirates / Soft Machine / NDR Jazz Workshop / Cuneiform Records (2010)
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com
Beautiful Pea Green Boat / Laurie Anderson / Bright Red Warner Brothers (1994)
http://www.laurieanderson.com/projects/
Homespun (topophilia) / Alexander Baker / Deep Wireless 7: Radio Art Compilation New Adventures In Sound Art (2010)
http://www.naisa.ca
Where Is Home? / Viv Corringham / Deep Wireless 7: Radio Art Compilation New Adventures In Sound Art (2010)
http://www.naisa.ca
Barugon / Murder Lengendre / Collection Spine Punch Music (2009)
http://www.myspace.com/murderlegendre
(Re)Bound /Gray Code / Floating Point / Circumvention Music (2010)
http://www.circumventionmusic.com
Leaves Again / Jake Herzog / Patterns / Buckyball Records (2010)
http://www.buckyballmusic.com
Fades, Dissolves, Fizzles (1995) / Charles Dodge / A Retrospective (1977 - 2009) / New World Records (2010)
http://www.newworldrecords.org
My Dad Makes Robots / Jack Curtis Dubowsky / Vocal Music / De Stijl Music
http://www.destijlmusic.com
The Super Thing / Devo / New Traditionalists Warner Bros.
http://www.clubdevo.com/
Ashtray Man / Blue Sausage / Flight Of The Solstice Queens / Zero Moon (2010)
http://bluesausageinfant.com/
R.P.F. In Tuva (to Richard Feynman) / Gregg Bendian / Definite Pitch Aggregate Music (1994)
http://www.greggbendian.com/page.cfm?content=disc_detail&id=13

Thursday Jul 08, 2010
Episode 11: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (5-27-2010)
Thursday Jul 08, 2010
Thursday Jul 08, 2010
Greetings!
Featured in this week's podcast are a number of tracks from one of my favorite releases in 2010, Joe Frawley's latest, "Left Cincinnati". I am pleased to let you know that on July 15th, Joe will be my guest on "Pushing The Envelope", live in the studio, where we will discuss and play his music in addition to letting Joe spin music that he has found influential to his own artistic development.
Please join us, streamed live, on Thursday, July 15th from 8 to 10 PM, EST. http://www.whus.org
Any questions? Please let me know!
Joel
Episode 11: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (5-27-2010)
Mysteries Of Love - Stomu Yamashta's Go - Go Too - One Way Records (1977)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomu_Yamashta
Polarity - composer: Kathy Jackanich / ensemble: Zeitgeist - In Bone-Colored Light - Innova (2010)
http://innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=402
The Golden Needle - A Produce - Slumberland (episode one) - Waveform (1997)
http://www.answers.com/topic/a-produce
The Crypt / The Death - composer: Philip Feeney / Northern Ballet Theatre Orchestra, cond. John Pryce-Jones - Dracula (Ballet In 3 Acts) - Naxos (1996)
http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553964&catNum=553964&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English#
Plain Yellow Dress / Left Cincinnati / Secretary in Slowmo - Joe Frawley - Left Cincinnati - Joe Frawley Music (2010)
http://www.joefrawleymusic.info/
Norway - Centenaire - Centenaire - Chief Inspector (2007)
http://www.centenaire.net/
On Planet X - David Garland - "Control Songs" - Review Records (1997)
http://www.davidgarland.com/controlsongs.html
Space - Blue Sausage Infant - Flight Of The Solstice Queens - Zero Moon (2010)
http://www.zeromoon.com/?p=276 or http://www.bluesausageinfant.com/discography.html
Different Trains for string orchestra & pre-recorded performance tape - composer: Steve Reich / Orchestre National De Lyon, cond. David Robertson - Naive (2004)
http://www.stevereich.com/
Returning to a Place We've Never Been - Sandor Szabo / Kevin Kastning - Returning - Greydisc (2010)
http://www.kevinkastning.com/

Sunday Jun 27, 2010
Episode 10: Pushing The Envelope Podcast (5-13-2010)
Sunday Jun 27, 2010
Sunday Jun 27, 2010
Greetings!
This week's show has a bit more of a jazz/fusion bent to it due to the fact I grabbed the bag of CDs I would normally take to do a fill in for someone else's show. You could do worse.... ;>p
'Til next time,
Take care.
Joel
Pushing The Envelope Playlist (5-13-2010)
A Love Supreme (Alternate - Take 2) - Carlos Santana / Mahavishnu John McLaughlin - Love Devotion Surrender - Columbia / Legacy (1973)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Devotion_Surrender
Down the Road / Link 3a - Soft Machine - NDR Jazz Workshop - Cuneiform Records (1973/2010)
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/softmachine.html
Inner Flames - KBB - Proof of Concept - Musea/Poseidon (2007)
http://tsuboy.internet.ne.jp/kbb/index-e.html
Stories To Tell - Stanley Clarke feat. Allan Holdsworth - If Only This Bass Could Talk - Portrait (1988)
http://www.answers.com/topic/if-this-bass-could-only-talk-1
Gravity Waves - Chris Brown / Pauline Oliveros - Music In The Air - Deep Listening (2010)
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5763
The Agonist - Dave Halverson - Apothecary Charms - Lucid Moon Child Music (2008)
http://www.davehalverson.com/
Distant Saxophones - Jan Steele - Voices & Instruments - Obscure (1976)
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/11/jan-steele-john.html
Sonata (1957) - composer: Ezra Sims / cello: Ted Mook / piano: Eric Moe - Musing And Reminiscence - New World Records (2010)
http://www.newworldrecords.org/album.cgi?rm=view&album_id=84351
For That Which Was Living, Lost - Ellen Rowe Quartet - Wishing Well - PKO Records (2010)
http://www.ellenrowe.com/records.html