Other Minds is dedicated to the encouragement and propagation of contemporary music in all its forms through concerts, recordings, broadcasts, audio preservation, and public discussions that bring together artists and audiences of diverse traditions, generations, and cultural backgrounds.
RECENT UPDATES
The Other Minds Archives are ever-expanding, and we’ve just added a new collection: the Ivan Wyschnegradsky Papers (1937–2010). The collection comprises correspondence, articles, essays, artwork, scores, and photographs, relating to the Russian composer Ivan Wyschnegradsky. Wyschnegradsky, who lived most of his life in Paris, was known for his work in microtonal music and ideas regarding ultrachromaticism.
Other Minds celebrated the 80th birthday of Other Minds co-founder Charles Amirkhanian on January 19, 2025, in Berkeley, California. The afternoon’s proceedings were composed of a presentation of selected recent pieces of Amirkhanian’s, including the world premiere of a new piece for percussion and electronics, and onstage discussions with Amirkhanian, Carol Law, Sarah Cahill, Betsy Davids, Paul Dresher, Tony Gnazzo, Liam Herb, and Susan Stone.
New on OM Records: Thea Farhadian’s Tattoos and Other Markings is an electronic composition exploring the symbolic power of memory. After discovering a rarely discussed tattooing practice among female survivors of the Armenian Genocide, Farhadian became motivated to investigate questions about what has the power to be known and archived, what is remembered and what is forgotten.
Music from Other Minds is a weekly two-hour radio program of new and unusual music by innovative composers and performers around the world. Produced and presented by Other Minds staff members and associates Liam Herb, Joseph Bohigian, Ed Herrmann, and Charles Amirkhanian. Air time is 8pm Sunday evenings on KALW 91.7 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Conor Hanick joined us for a performance of the complete piano sonatas of Galina Ustvolskaya (1919–2006) at The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley. The performance was preceded by a talk on Ustvolskaya’s music by musicologist and 20th Century Russian and Soviet music specialist Simon Morrison.
A bevy of composers convened for the 28th Other Minds Festival at San Francisco’s Brava Theater. The highlight was the world premiere performance of The Cello Quartet by the visionary Seattle-based media artist Trimpin, featuring three autonomous cellos, human cellist Lori Goldston, and a trio of circus artists, choreographed by Margaret Fisher.
