Although classical music may call to mind images of powdered wigs and late-18th century comportment, Austin's classical music station is helping listeners hear beyond that. KMFA 89.5 represents both the traditional and the contemporary with "pianoforte" performances, classical music trivia over beers, and especially the arrival of this spring's Offbeat Series programming.

This series presents four live performances each year — two each season — that show off contemporary concert music, often in unconventional ways. The two performances this season highlight insects with a scientific rigor and honor a late young musician with help from his bass teacher, respectively.

First up, on February 22, is Insectum. Golden Hornet, a collective led by Austin composer and bandleader Graham Reynolds, will play its album of the same name in full, live at KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio. This collection of music was inspired by arthropods, specifically — a larger group than just insects that also includes arachnids, crustaceans, and more — in ways that may surprise a listener.

Reynolds, the group's artistic director, plays the piano and electronic instruments, and is joined by Susie Ibarra on percussion and former Kronos Quartet member Jeffrey Zeigler on cello. The trio also got help from entomologists Alex Wild and Jo-anne Holley at The University of Texas at Austin, to ensure they were presenting the correct analysis.

Many people hold beliefs about insects that were simplified through clichés or are just plain misconstrued, and these musicians intend to set the record straight. Although the music sounds abstract, it is made up of entomological observations translated quite tangibly into sound. ("Fly Buzzing" is as distressing as it sounds, and "Giant Snail Devours Earthworm" is much jazzier than the real event probably is.)

“Alex and Jo-anne ... helped us to understand what was actually real or correct to each particular insect and explained the nuances that the public might not know," said Reynolds in a press release. "[For t]he track ‘Army Ants’, we originally had it as very regimented and strict on time, but that’s not the truth. They swarm at first and then retreat as a straight line, so we added Susie’s drum intro to capture that moment.”

The album is available via streaming services for pre-listening, but a 30-minute pre-performance studio talk will help listeners parse out exactly what they're hearing.

Next, on April 12, is Adoration & Remembrance. This two-part program honors the studio's namesake, Draylen Mason, who was a promising 17-year-old bassist. Mason was killed in the infamous series of package bombings in Austin in 2018. His memory is carried by KMFA as a symbol of hope and vision among marginalized musicians in classical music.

Mason's bass teacher, Dana Marie Wygmans, brings her folk group to perform two classical pieces within their own, more bluegrass-influenced style. American Dreamer rearranged Florence Price’s Adoration and Giovanni Bottesini Concerto for Double Bass No. 2 in B Minor for this concert with its own signature flourishes, including new vocals.

“KMFA is an Austin institution," said American Dreamer collectively in a release. "As the classical world continues to evolve and adapt in the 21st century, we are seeing more and more blending across genre and medium. It means so much that KMFA is embracing our fusion of folk and classical music and providing a forum to share our music and story!”

The former piece was selected in part to honor its composer, a prolific Black woman composer whose greatness broke through the European homogeneity of concert music as early as 1933. The latter piece was part of Mason's repertoire; He was practicing to performing it but never got to do so.

"He was known for being a really feisty kid that cared a lot about the world around him," says KMFA director of events Stacey Hoyt in an interview with CultureMap.

Hoyt adds that Mason is honored year-round through the Draylen Mason Fellows Program, which gathers high school students to program and perform a concert that holds similar values.

"It's not just about music," she says. "It's about community and understanding the world that they're living in ... so those concerts are really special."

Of course, the organization has plenty of other programming on its calendar. Of note right now is the 2024 composer-in-residence and cellist Sophie Mathieu, who is also the youth director at Golden Hornet. The Austin-based composer has a master's degree from the University of Texas and will likely strengthen KMFA's ties with folk music; she plays in queer folk band Middle Sattre and indie-alternative band Maru.

More events at KFMA are on the calendar at kmfa.org. Members receive special pricing, but anyone can buy a ticket to attend a KMFA event.