One of my favorite conversations from the past few weeks was with a wonderfully gifted composer named Dale Trumbore. (Check out her website here.) I had been following Dale on twitter for awhile, but had no real personal connection. A few months ago, my friend Sean Burton did an interview with Jo-Michael Scheibe. You can read it here.
In the interview, Dr. Scheibe gives a list of composers that he is currently promoting. I saw Dale’s name on the list with my own and thought, “Hey, I follow her on twitter, but I’ve never actually listened to her music.” So, I started listening and exploring. It’s a wonderful, musical mind that is not averse to taking some risks. Here is a wonderful example.
You can see she has all the gifts. Aural imagination, dramatic pacing, knowledge of how to write for the voice, etc. I’m convinced that she will have a long and illustrious career, and that’s important.
Composition has for far too long become an all boys club. I’m not saying that we haven’t had some important female composers along the way. We have, and I have some favorites. (I have a particular weakness for Amy Beach!) I think we’ve even come a long way in the last hundred years in regards to performing music by women. I just think we have more work to do, and I’m suggesting that when we find a gem like Dale Trumbore, we should all get behind her, perform her music, and commission her.
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