Photo credit: Alexis C. Lamb
We have been in rehearsals for the last two weeks and are so excited for the premieres of six new works for orchestra by the 2nd-year Yale School of Music Composition students. Composers featured include Gabrielle Herbst, Joel Thompson, Peter S. Shin, Paul Mortilla, Miles Walter, and myself.
My contribution to tonight’s concert is titled, “She Was There, Too.” This piece has seeks to recognize six pioneering women who were in positions of faculty and other professional roles (such as University Librarian) at Yale who have not been as celebrated for their persevering efforts this year with the 50 Women at Yale 150 Celebrations, due to all of the attention on the milestones for women graduate and undergraduate students. For this project, I wanted to excerpt brief audio selections from the oral history interviews that the women participated in from 2007-2010 and have those excerpts cued over the orchestra, creating a collage narrative of their experiences throughout the composition. Tonight’s show is particularly important because some of these women and their friends and families will be in attendance to hear the premiere!
I am extremely grateful to conductor Ryan Tani and all of the musicians in the Yale Philharmonia for helping bring this piece to life. Looking forward to hearing all of the works on this special occasion!