The TRILLOQUY Team
A proud native of Memphis, TN, Loki Karuna (formerly Garrett McQueen) is a bassoonist who has performed with ensembles including the South Arkansas Symphony, Jackson Symphony, American Youth Symphony, Memphis Repertory Orchestra, the Eroica Ensemble, and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Southeast Symphony, the Artosphere and Gateways Festival Orchestras, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Loki has been featured as both a performer and host on "Performance Today" and "Music Through the Night" from American Public Media, and has appeared in a wide array of television programs, including Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples", TV One's "Fatal Attraction", and Fox's "Glee".
In addition to remaining active in performance spaces, Loki is the host and producer of local and nationally-syndicated radio programs including "The Sound of 13", "Noteworthy", "Gateways Radio", and "The Sounds of Kwanzaa". Away from the airwaves, Loki offers guest lectures, presentations, and trainings at the intersections of race, culture, Black liberation, and classical music, with past collaborators including the Gateways Music Festival, the Sphinx Organization, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater, Black Music Experience, the Minnesota Music Teachers Association, New Music Gathering, and the MacPhail Center for Music. In the press, Loki has been noted as not only a "classical agitator", but also "a Black talent in public media that you may not know, but should".
Loki is a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, supporting the Bridgeview district of Soka Gakkai International, and spends his free time studying Eastern philosophy, eating plant-based cuisine, and enjoying life with his partner, Dell.
In addition to remaining active in performance spaces, Loki is the host and producer of local and nationally-syndicated radio programs including "The Sound of 13", "Noteworthy", "Gateways Radio", and "The Sounds of Kwanzaa". Away from the airwaves, Loki offers guest lectures, presentations, and trainings at the intersections of race, culture, Black liberation, and classical music, with past collaborators including the Gateways Music Festival, the Sphinx Organization, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater, Black Music Experience, the Minnesota Music Teachers Association, New Music Gathering, and the MacPhail Center for Music. In the press, Loki has been noted as not only a "classical agitator", but also "a Black talent in public media that you may not know, but should".
Loki is a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, supporting the Bridgeview district of Soka Gakkai International, and spends his free time studying Eastern philosophy, eating plant-based cuisine, and enjoying life with his partner, Dell.
Scott Blankenship (co-host, Op. 1-200) grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, in a pretty benign and stereotypical midwest middle-class existence. As a senior in high school, Scott discovered theater and entered the University of Nebraska at Omaha as a theater (he spells that 'er') major. UNO was a commuter campus at that point, and in order to fulfill an internship credit Scott got an internship at KVNO. Since the station was on campus, he didn't have to give up his parking spot, and consequently fell in love with public radio. Over the course of almost 15 years, Scott held many different managerial and on-air roles.
In 1993, Scott and three close friends decided to form their own theater group to showcase local playwrights and actors, and The Shelterbelt was born. For over 20 years, The Shelterbelt presented dozens of original offerings from what was once a humble sandwich shop called Killgore's. While living the Bohemian artist lifestyle of a public radio host and actor, Scott began writing short scenes and one-act plays for the 'belt. Some of the pieces produced include He Who Laughs Last, Hypnotized, and the full-length Friends Like These. Friends Like These was nominated for a TAG award for Best Original Script in 2006.
For Scott, TRILLOQUY is the culmination of decades spent honing skills in broadcasting and the arts; writing, editing, storytelling, and all the production elements that you hear every week but happen behind the scenes. When Scott isn't working on TRILLOQUY (or hosting live radio), you can find him playing guitar, woodworking, and brewing beer.
In 1993, Scott and three close friends decided to form their own theater group to showcase local playwrights and actors, and The Shelterbelt was born. For over 20 years, The Shelterbelt presented dozens of original offerings from what was once a humble sandwich shop called Killgore's. While living the Bohemian artist lifestyle of a public radio host and actor, Scott began writing short scenes and one-act plays for the 'belt. Some of the pieces produced include He Who Laughs Last, Hypnotized, and the full-length Friends Like These. Friends Like These was nominated for a TAG award for Best Original Script in 2006.
For Scott, TRILLOQUY is the culmination of decades spent honing skills in broadcasting and the arts; writing, editing, storytelling, and all the production elements that you hear every week but happen behind the scenes. When Scott isn't working on TRILLOQUY (or hosting live radio), you can find him playing guitar, woodworking, and brewing beer.
