When Nathan Hudson first heard author Ben Loory’s story The Duck on NPR’s This American Life, he knew he had to set it to music. That impulse sparked a collaboration that’s grown into years of friendship, concert tours, and a forthcoming album. Hudson reflects on jumping headfirst into vocal writing—despite never having written for voice before—and the challenge of setting Loory’s full, unedited texts to music. The result? Works like The Duck and God that blur narration, chamber ensemble, and song, grounded as much in human connection as in musical invention.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

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Gabriel Bolaños is fully Nicaraguan, though his parents fled the Sandinista revolution in 1979 with three kids and two suitcases. Growing up abroad, moving every few years, Nicaragua remained the one constant—summers with family, guitar lessons with folk guitarist Julio Vásquez, marimba training. But Bolaños resists incorporating those traditions into his notated work. He learned early that folk music's vitality lives in embellishment and performance practice, not the bare-bones transcription on the page. To him, presenting Latin American folk music in concert halls with polished instruments and performers disconnected from its history feels disrespectful—like putting something living in a cage. Even when expectations arise, he holds back, only hinting at those roots sparingly, as hidden gestures rather than central features.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

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Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

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micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

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Emma O’Halloran reflects on Ira Glass’s famous “gap” quote—the reminder that every creative must endure the distance between their taste and their early work. She shares her own struggles with that gap, the importance of making “bad art,” and why practice is as vital for composers as it is for performers. From clearing space with meditation and movement, to filling the well with curiosity and new discoveries, to the discipline of showing up every day—Emma outlines the pillars that sustain her creative practice.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram @loose.leaf.transmissions.

micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicolás Lell Benavides reflects on the bridge between rock, jazz, and composition — how early band rehearsals unknowingly taught him orchestration, and how writing music became a way of organizing thought. He and Tyler talk about teaching creativity, the value of notation as a tool for clarity, and the humility required to stay curious long after formal training ends.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions

micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

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Austin Hammonds opens up about what it really means to take ownership of a creative career — after years of working under others, learning the ropes, and navigating industry instability. He shares the courage it takes to step out on your own, the deep self-reflection behind that decision, and how family, mentors, and curiosity continue to shape his evolving path as a composer.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

Follow us on Instagram @loose.leaf.transmissions.

micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

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Jessica Ackerley applied to an Arctic residency on a whim, partly motivated by a childhood spent reading Farley Mowat's accounts of Northern Canada and a long-held desire to reach the polar regions. What they found in Svalbard, Norway — one of the furthest points north on the planet — was almost the inverse of what they'd imagined: the gap between preconceived idea and lived experience became the subject. The island carries centuries of layered history, from fur traders and whalers to coal excavation to current scientific research on climate change, and sits at a geopolitical flashpoint as nations jockey for influence over the Arctic. Ackerley describes their ongoing work rooted in that experience as an attempt to share something most audiences will never witness directly — and to let music do what language can't quite manage: convey the essence of being there, and make listeners question what they thought the Arctic was.

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

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micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

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Hannah Boissonneault describes how her songwriting and concert music practices have become more unified over time — and how improvisation has remained at the heart of both. She shares how voice memos, nontraditional instruments, and a love for slow-moving harmony help her tap into musical intuition. Whether writing a fixed media piece or recording with her band, she embraces the same curiosity, layering textures to create immersive, emotionally grounded sound worlds.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

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micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

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Through his Vital Organ Project, composer and organist Graeme Shields is reintroducing audiences to an instrument that’s often misunderstood—or overlooked entirely. He and Tyler talk about making the organ accessible outside of church walls, connecting with new audiences, and showing that this centuries-old instrument still has a vital place in today’s musical landscape.

micro/Maker episodes release every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Listen to music/Maker with Tyler Kline wherever you get podcasts, or at musicmakerpodcast.com.

Support Loose Leaf Transmissions on Patreon at patreon.com/LooseLeafTransmissions.

Follow us on Instagram: @loose.leaf.transmissions

micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.