"Walking Tune (A Room-Music for Percy Grainger)" (1986) by Charles Amirkhanian is an homage to Australian-American composer Percy Grainger. Grainger's "Walking Tune" for solo piano was conceived in 1900 during a tramp through the Scottish Highlands. In this work, Amirkhanian uses the Synclavier digital synthesizer—a tool Grainger would have embraced eagerly—to combine sounds recorded out-of-doors (tramping in Utah; the shriek of geese; a swarm of humming birds)with musical sound. And he shapes a sensual and powerful sound-music piece that is true to Grainger's own song of praise to the natural world. Commissioned by New American Radio. 1986-1987.

In its ten years as a weekly national series, 1987-1998, New American Radio (NAR) commissioned and distributed over 300 original works: conceptual new drama, associational documentary, language explorations, sonic meditations, environmental compositions, musical explorations and works that pioneer new dimensions in acoustic space. Wave Farm is thrilled to be partnering with New American Radio to ensure these works remain available to listeners today and into the future.

New American Radio was organized by Helen Thorington, Executive Producer and Regine Beyer, Associate Producer. A special thanks to both Helen Thorington and Jo-Anne Green for their generous support and collaboration of this partnership, and their contribution to the field at large!

Click here to explore individual artists and works.