The Guest List
Thursday June 12th, 2025 with Joe Reilly
Interviews with cellist Aidan Fleet, composer John Luther Adams and Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill

We open the show in conversation with cellist Aidan Fleet who is participating in the Mentorship Program of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He tells us how he started playing cello at a very young age, how he was mentored by Gatineau cellist Anne Contant, and how he keeps busy with many musical projects. He also shares his thoughts about performing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Become Desert by John Luther Adams next Wednesday and Thursday (June 18th and 19th) with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. For tickets to see the NACO on the 18th and 19th use this link: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/36122 For more information about Aidan Fleet: https://nac-cna.ca/en/bio/aidan-fleet Then we get to hear from John Luther Adams himself. The prolific American composer is known for composing musical pieces inspired by nature. His orchestral work Become Ocean was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and was performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra in the Fall of 2022. It was one of the most stirring and inspiring concerts I have attended in many years and I am truly looking forward to hearing the NACO perform Become Desert next week. Since John Luther Adams is in Australia, I was not able to coordinate our schedules for an interview. Instead I sent him a series of audio questions which he graciously responded to and I put them together with the music Become Desert for the Guest List today. John Luther Adams shares with us how he tries to capture the essence of the desert in music and how in particular he uses strings and percussion in this amazing piece. For more information about John Luther Adams visit his website: https://johnlutheradams.net/ Finally we check in with one of my favourtie Canadian musicians, and someone I've had a great connection with for many years, Richard Underhill of the Shuffle Demons. This is the first part of a lengthy interview with Richard, and the second part will air next week. Today we talk about things like the long-standing friendship between Richard and fellow Shuffle Demon and drummer Stich Wynston and some of the ideas behind the song Are You Really Real, which is the title track on the band's brand new album. The Shuffle Demons are performing on the first weekend of the Ottawa Jazz Festival, on Sunday June 22. For information about the Shuffle Demons performance at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, use this link: https://program.ottawajazzfestival.com/item/13908-Shuffle-Demons And for more information about everything going on at the Ottawa JazzFest use this link: https://ottawajazzfestival.com/ Finally for more information about the Shuffle Demons and their music: https://www.shuffledemons.com/ https://theshuffledemons1.bandcamp.com/ Get out and see some live music this week and support independent music any way that you can. Thanks for listening and of course thanks to our sponsor Spaceman Music. The Guest List is sponsored by Spaceman Music, located at 388 Gladstone Avenue, just west of Bank. Visit Spaceman for all of your music making needs and don't forget they have a great repair shop and offer music lessons. Check out Spaceman online at: https://www.spacemanmusic.com/