Living Classical with Tyler Kline for September 6-12, 2026

On this edition of Living Classical with Tyler Kline: When we take away language as our primary means of expression, how much meaning is lost – and how much is gained? Nina Shekhar's Vocalise asks exactly that: a song without words, and here she wonders whether the piano, unable to enunciate anything, might still find a way to sing.

Then: Tonia Ko's Her Land, Expanded began with a field recording of church bells tolling in an eerie minor key – sounds she digitally froze, then transcribed for orchestra. Written with filmmaker Alexandra Cuesta, the piece is a lament for lost landscapes, shaped by both artists' vantage points on displacement and colonization.

Music by Allison Loggins-Hull, David Biedenbender, Billy Childs, Nico Muhly, Paul Novak, Alec Goldfarb, and Toshio Hosokawa.

Featuring performances by trumpeter Neil Mueller with Lansing Symphony Orchestra; pianist Daniel Schreiner; violinist Er-Gene Kahng; violist Carrie Frey; The Cleveland Orchestra; Lansing Symphony Orchestra; Aurora Orchestra; Kinetic Ensemble; American Composers Orchestra; and Trondheim Sinfonietta.

Join Tyler Kline for this edition of Living Classical – exploring the full spectrum of classical music being made today.

Hour 1

• Can You See? by Allison Loggins-Hull

• Flowing from David Biedenbender’s River of Time

• Vocalise by Nina Shekhar

• Pavane from Four Portraits by Billy Childs

• Nico Muhly’s Step Team

Hour 2

• A String Quartet is like a Flock of Birds by Paul Novak

• Tonia Ko’s Her Land, Expanded

• No reading/if this were ever sounded by Alec Goldfarb

• Toshio Hosokawa’s Drawing for eight players