Growing up in Pennsylvania, Mazzoli immersed herself in rock music, played in punk bands, and eventually discovered the experimental possibilities of contemporary classical composition. For Mazzoli, these influences aren't competing styles but different ways of creating music that feels immediate, immersive, and deeply human…

Musical inspiration rarely travels in a straight line. Sometimes it comes full circle, as it did when legendary American composer Steve Reich (b. 1936) discovered that one of the world's most innovative rock bands had been influenced by his music… and then found himself inspired by theirs.

In 1981, an unlikely song climbed to number two on the British pop charts. It was eight minutes long, featured almost no conventional instruments, and was built around a single, endlessly repeating vocal pulse. That song was…