Featuring personal selections made by Now THAT’S What I Call 21st Century’s host: Jedd Greenhalgh. Listen to music about orcas, some virtuosic folk ensemble works, music written by and for contemporary violin virtuosos, and a piece for cello and electronics like you’ve never heard before.

Featuring music by the Milwaukee-born Michael Torke. Torke is a highly prominent composer in the world of 21st century concert music, having fulfilled commissions from entities like Walt Disney and Absolute Vodka, in addition to having written works for many symphonies all over the globe...

Featuring music for the violin. The first volume of music for the violin had so many good choices for programming that a second episode for the instrument was a necessity. Listen to Violin Volume for more concertos, solo works, and chamber works for the popular strings instrument.

Featuring music for the piano. There is a great deal of music for piano written all around the world each year, and on this episode of Now THAT’S What I Call 21st Century, you can get a tase of how diverse and exciting that music is, especially for the music written after the year 2000: music from Costa Rica, Finland, Armenia, and beyond.

Featuring music written for the cello. The first volume of music for the cello had so much quality music to choose from, that a second installment for the instrument simply had to be created. Listen to Cello Volume 2 for more concertos, solo works, and chamber works for the low strings instrument.

Featuring music written by Jennifer Higdon. The United States composer Jennifer Higdon currently holds a Pulitzer Prize and 3 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Musician, but this was not always the apparent future for the now globally revered musician. Learn more about Higdon’s story and spend some quality time with her music on this composer-focused episode of Now THAT’S What I Call 21st Century.

Featuring music written for the string quartet. Today’s episode will be taking you on a journey through the 21st century forest of works for String Quartet. On the composer’s roster you’ll find representation from Costa Rica, Armenia, Japan, the United States, and some string quartet arrangements of music from some select video games. Even now, after centuries of music written for it, the string quartet still proves itself to be an essential staple of concert music genres.

Featuring music created by NWPB Staff. Now THAT’S What I Call 21st Century is produced in the Pullman WA studios of Northwest Public Broadcasting. During NWPB’s March 2026 fund drive, This special episode was made: a totally custom, all original production of 21st century music either created or covered by current and past NWPB personnel. Northwest Public Broadcasting has been here for over a century, and...

Featuring music by the vocalist, violinist, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw. Listen to Shaw’s compositional take on music for the string quartet, the choir, the percussion ensemble, and even songwriter-style music for herself as a vocal soloist. An hour of swirling melodies, contemplative textures, and playful-sounding innovation in the key of Shaw await you!

Featuring music for the wind ensemble. Wind, brass, and percussion instruments commonly come together in the world of concert music, creating the Wind Ensemble, and even though the group type has existed for centuries, there is also a plethora of great new music written for the Wind Ensemble in the 21st century too. Listen to some of that great new music for Wind Ensemble from composers Steven Bryant, John Mackey, and David Maslanka right here.