Loki Karuna
Executive Director
loki@composersforum.org
New York City and Twin Cities based musician, producer, activist, and administrator, Loki Karuna* has been noted as not only a “classical agitator,” but also “a Black talent in public media that you may not know, but should.” In 2021, The New York Times named his podcast, TRILLOQUY, as a standout and one that is “required listening,” maintaining a top-10 spot among classical music podcasts globally. His awards and honors include the Sphinx Organization‘s MPower Artist Grant for his work in broadcast and digital media, Musical America‘s “Top 30 Arts Professionals of 2024”, Springboard for the Arts‘ Creative Economy Fellowship, and the Shuttleworth Foundation’s Social Change Award. On-screen, Loki has appeared on network television programs and specials including Snapped: Killer Couples, Glee, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Nationally syndicated radio programming and series created by Loki include “The Sound of 13,” “Noteworthy Classical,” “Gateways Radio,” and “The Sounds of Kwanzaa“. Away from the airwaves, Loki offers guest lectures, presentations, and equity training at the intersections of race, culture, Black liberation, and classical music, with past collaborators including the Apollo Theater, Black Music Experience, the Minnesota Music Teachers Association, New Music Gathering, and the MacPhail Center for Music. Recent college, university, and conservatory guest lecture partners include Yale University, the Manhattan School of Music, Freie Universität Berlin, the Peabody Institute, Cornell University, the University of Memphis, the University of Southern California, and the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Loki began his career as an orchestral bassoonist, performing with ensembles including the South Arkansas Symphony, Jackson (TN) Symphony, American Youth Symphony, Memphis Repertory Orchestra, the Eroica Ensemble, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Southeast Symphony, the Artosphere and Gateways Festival Orchestras, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A desire to “decolonize” classical music expanded his career beyond the stage into digital and broadcast media, being heard as a radio and podcast host across all 50 states and in over 100 countries. Loki’s written work includes contributions to the “Future/Present“, “From Our Eyes and Ears“, and “Sound Systems” anthologies, exploring stories and techniques on reshaping arts ecosystems.
Loki holds a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance from the University of Memphis, where he studied with Lecolion Washington, and a Master of Music in Bassoon Performance from the University of Southern California, where he studied with Judith Farmer. He continues to work as a performing bassoonist and narrator, in addition to serving as the President of TrillWerks Media, and Executive Director of the American Composers Forum. Loki serves on the board of directors of Lyrica Baroque, the Lakes Area Music Festival, Decolonizing the Music Room, and the Cedar Cultural Center.
Loki is a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism and a member of the Soka Gakkai International, and spends his free time studying Black history and Eastern philosophy, eating plant-based cuisine, and enjoying life with his partner.
*Loki Karuna (formerly Garrett McQueen) was renamed in 2022 in a ceremony affirming his personal rejection of the inheritance of a colonial identity, aligning his activism, spiritual practice, and overall work.
“Loki” (short for Avalokiteśvara) references Buddhism’s “Perceiver of the World’s Sounds”, whose mission was to respond to the needs of humanity by helping them achieve enlightenment. In broader cultural contexts, “Loki” is also representative of an embodiment of mischief, change, and disruption, manifesting in a career dedicated to challenging status quo in the arts.
Karuna, the Sanskrit word for “compassion”, reflects a commitment to peace, human-centered engagement, and respect for all living beings.