Dr. Steph Frye-Clark, an associate professor of tuba and euphonium, has conducted research over the past year about the experiences of queer composers. Their work was presented to the public on April 15, in the Martin Center Powell Recital Hall.
“It [the recital] is the presentation of preliminary findings from an RDC [Research Development Committee] grant that I have been doing in collaboration with sociology professor Dr. Kelly Foster,” said Frye-Clark.
This project originally began as an idea in the fall of 2020. As Frye-Clark explained, they were undergoing a lack of motivation as a composer and educator until their wife, Opal Frye-Clark, asked them to research queer composers.
Frye-Clark then presented early preliminary findings during a virtual recital in the spring of 2021. This year’s, “Through a Queer Lens,” recital expands upon these early findings.
“We conducted qualitative interviews with queer composers kind of asking them questions ranging from their childhood experiences and just their experiences as a queer person in the music world and as a composer,” said Frye-Clark. “We wanted to know what the commonalities are, and you know, maybe, what they are not.”
Many students in the music department, and those who play tuba and euphonium, were called upon to help present Frye-Clark and Foster’s research. Additionally, there were a collection of students who were all instrumental in conducting interviews and performing pieces during the recital.
Frye-Clark commissioned five composers during the research process, four of whom composed pieces that Frye-Clark premiered to the world during the recital.
“The requirement was that they had to be part of the queer community with the exclusion of cisgender men, simply because there’s not an under-representation of gay men in the music world,” said Frye-Clark. “In the end, a lot of the composers we interviewed fell on the non-binary and transgender spectrum.”
The recital allowed these composers to express themselves through their own background culturally, and through their queer identity. Frye-Clark said that the recital is a unique event combining both faculty and student research to help express and spread queer composers’ works.
In May and June, Frye-Clark will finish their research on this project by recording the works professionally at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Frye-Clark will be joined by current student Aleena DaCruz, alum Nicholas Fisher and two faculty members at CSU.
For more information about “Through a Queer Lens,” please email Dr. Steph Frye-Clark at fryesn@etsu.edu or Dr. Kelly Foster at fosterkn@etsu.edu.
