The month of March has been designated as Women's History Month, an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the diverse and historic achievements of women in United States history. It is quite fitting at this time to explore and extol the accomplishments of American composer, conductor and pianist Joan Tower.
Born in New Rochelle, New York on September 6, 1938, she spent her childhood in South America where her father worked as a mining engineer. She returned to America as a young adult and studied music at Bennington College and Columbia University. In 1969, she founded the Da Capo Chamber Players; during her 15 year tenure as pianist, the ensemble won the Naumburg Award in 1973. She joined the faculty at Bard College in 1972, won a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1977 and was the recipient of numerous commissions from various foundations including the Koussevitzky, Fromm, Jerome and Naumburg. The St. Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin honored her with a composer-in-residence title from 1985–1987. As part of the Carnegie Hall centennial, she composed her Third Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman in 1991. She became the first woman to win the Grawemeyer Award in 1990. In 1998, she not only won the Alfred I. DuPont Award for Distinguished American Composers but was awarded membership to the prestigious American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Although her early student works were based on serialism, she quickly found her own voice of catchy melodies, rich harmonies and exciting rhythms derived from her early exposure to Latin American music. She has been a pioneer and role model for female classical composers. Her works at the Westport Public Library include Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman, Instrumental Music, Joan Tower and Made in America.
