Greetings from cold and snowy Cincinnati.

Some great news to share right away this week! Living Classical is now airing on KWAX in Eugene, Oregon – Friday nights at 8 PM Pacific. KWAX is the eleventh station carrying the show, and honestly, each new station feels like a vote of confidence in the work I'm doing. (And yes, the station’s name is for sure a reference to their university’s mascot).

You can view the full list of radio stations that air Living Classical here. Oh, and if you happen to have a connection at your local public radio station and think they might be interested in adding Living Classical to their schedule, I'd love to hear from you – getting the show on more stations means a lot, and your help makes a real difference.

I'm also looking forward to next week: music/Maker returns with composer Christopher Stark as my first guest of 2026. If you've subscribed since Living Classical launched and haven't explored music/Maker yet, there are 43 episodes of long-form conversations with composers and other creative types waiting for you at musicmakerpodcast.com. I've been sitting on this conversation with Christopher for a bit, and I'm glad to finally share it.

This week's Living Classical focuses on music shaped by balance and suspension, and I think it's one of the most patient, carefully constructed lineups I've programmed. Devonté Hynes's Morning Piece has a beautifully uncommon sense of restraint… one listener described it as music where one note more would be too much, and one less, too little. Then there's Jeffrey Mumford's ...amid still and floating depths, which holds layered textures in balance, moving between spareness and intensity in ways that feel both delicate and expansive.

Also, two new micro/Maker episodes are out this week. In one, Michael Frazier discusses how birdsong entered his work as an extension of a relationship with birdwatching that has been part of his life for years. And in another, Austin Hammonds shares a lesson from composer John Powell that stuck: you don't have to know what you're doing – you just have to be in control of what you're doing.

Now streaming: Living Classical Episode 6 for February 1 - 7, 2026

On this edition of Living Classical with Tyler Kline: In Morning Piece, composer Devonté Hynes writes with an uncommon sense of balance – music where, as one listener put it, one note more would be too much, and one less, too little. It’s a work shaped by stillness, patience, and close attention to sound itself.

Then: the title alone suggests a place of suspension – stillness, depth, and light held in balance. In …amid still and floating depths, composer Jeffrey Mumford unfolds layered textures that move between spareness and intensity, allowing multiple modes of expression to coexist and overlap.

Plus, works by Carlos Simon, Courtney Bryan, James Lee III, Jessie Montgomery, Tyler Taylor, Michael Abels, Ty Bloomfield, Curtis Stewart, Billy Childs, and Shelley Washington.

View the playlist & listen: https://www.looseleaftransmissions.com/post/living-classical-with-tyler-kline-for-february-1-7-2026

Follow & stream the archive anytime on Mixcloud.

Episode 074: Hearing the World More Closely (featuring Michael Frazier)

Michael Frazier talks about how birdsong entered his music as an extension of a long-standing relationship with birdwatching, shaped by listening and lived moments rather than transcription.

Episode 075: Being in Control Without Knowing (featuring Austin Hammonds)

Austin Hammonds shares a lesson from composer John Powell that reshaped his thinking: you don't have to know what you're doing – you just have to be in control of what you're doing.

Episodes are released every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe now!

Listen & subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music/Audible | YouTube | Acast

Next week, music/Maker resumes with a new slate of episodes, starting with composer Christopher Stark.

On a new music/Maker, composer Christopher Stark talks about how landscape, identity, and environment intertwine in his work, and how patience, revision, and trust guide his process. He and Tyler discuss how his small-town Montana beginnings and self-taught guitar playing led to a life in composition, how residencies function as spaces for artistic renewal, and how creative work can carry the quiet imprint of the places we come from.

Tune in beginning Thursday, February 12, wherever you get podcasts!

Also streaming Sunday, February 8: a new Living Classical features Adolphus Hailstork's Nobody Know, a concert aria shaped by perspective and biblical echoes, and Errollyn Wallen's Hunger, a work built from imagined terrain and shifting intensity. Plus music by Jonathan Bailey Holland, Eleanor Alberga, Jonathan Bingham, Jens Ibsen, Trevor Weston, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and Valerie Coleman.

Listen and follow on Mixcloud each week.

Living Classical is now on 11 stations, with weekly Mixcloud streams approaching the 70s. music/Maker is coming back. This work is reaching more people than ever, thanks to listeners like you.

Here's how you can help it keep growing:

And if you want to support the work directly, Patreon is where that happens. It's currently the sole source of income for Loose Leaf Transmissions – and the reason I can keep building on this momentum. Not ready for ongoing support? You can also leave a one-time tip on Ko-fi.

However you choose to support, thank you so much for doing so!

Stay warm, stay well, and happy listening!