Hear works by the collective of US-based composers, Kinds of Kings. The collective was founded in 2017 to create an inclusive community dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices and creating contemporary works. You’ll hear recent compositions from its three founding members, all performed live in-studio by saxophone quartet, ~Nois. 

Shelley Washington hails from Kansas City, Missouri. Her work as a composer explores personal experiences and public discourses using a variety of sonic influences and layered textures. She is also a member of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab. Her piece, Eternal Present, is inspired by her experience of time blindness. Maria Kaoutzani is originally from Cyprus, but is currently based in Chicago where she is finishing her PhD in music composition. She was inspired by the hectic rhythms of urban life in her piece, Count Me In. Gemma Peacocke was born in New Zealand but she now calls Brooklyn home. Gemma’s piece, Hazel, was written for ~Nois and premiered at the Bang on a Can Long Play Festival in 2022. 

Between the music, you’ll hear interviews with collective members Shelley Washington and Gemma Peacocke as well as ~Nois’s Julian Velasco. - Laura Boyman

#4792, Kinds of Kings, Live In-Studio (First aired 9/19/23)

ARTIST: ~Nois
WORK: Gemma Peacocke: Hazel
RECORDING: Live, in-studio, 2023
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: gemmapeacocke.com/hazel

ARTIST: ~Nois
WORK: Maria Kaoutzani: Count Me In
RECORDING: Live, in-studio, 2023
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.

ARTIST: ~Nois
WORK: Shelley Washington: Eternal Present
RECORDING: Live, in-studio, 2023
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.