Kimberly Lehmann is using her viola to reclaim some of the applause that so many female composers were denied for generations.
She performed at Corthell Hall in Gorham on Saturday, March 26, during the last weekend of Women鈥檚 History Month. All of the music in the show, titled 鈥淯nsung Voices,鈥� was composed by women.
鈥淎ny composer uses a range of emotions to create their music, and I don鈥檛 know that an emotion is male or female,鈥� said Lehmann. 鈥淭here are tender passages in there and there are also forceful ones.鈥�
Lehmann pointed to the music of Libby Larsen as an example of the more forceful side of the show鈥檚 program. Born in 1950, Larsen counts jazz and rock musicians among her influences. Lehmann described Larsen鈥檚 piece as gritty and unmistakably American. The other featured composers are Clara Schumann and Rebecca Clarke.
鈥淲e just need to play music from women composers more until it becomes much more common. I can鈥檛 think of any other way to do it,鈥� Lehmann said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 happening in orchestra programming now, not just with women composers but with composers of color. I think there鈥檚 an awareness there that wasn鈥檛 there before.鈥�
Lehmann plays viola in the Portland Symphony Orchestra. When she鈥檚 not performing, much of her time is spent teaching. She runs lessons at the Portland Conservatory of Music and holds a position as Artist Faculty at the 杏吧传媒鈥檚 Osher School of Music.
Fynn Moxcey is one of Lehmann鈥檚 students. She鈥檚 a freshman at USM studying Music Education with a focus on classical viola. Moxcey was in the audience on Saturday to show her support for Lehmann and expand her own musical horizons.
鈥淚 actually don鈥檛 recognize any of the repertoire yet,鈥� Moxcey said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited, especially because it鈥檚 women composers, to see if there鈥檚 anything Kim could teach me in the future.鈥�
That lack of familiarity with her instrument is something that Lehmann hears a lot, even from fellow musicians. The viola is a larger cousin of the violin with a deeper register. With better-known instruments, audiences often expect to hear the most popular pieces from a standard catalog of music. Lehmann enjoys the freedom of a clean slate.
鈥淲hen people come to my concerts and they hear the pieces, they鈥檙e like, 鈥極h my goodness, this is a great piece that I鈥檝e never heard before and I just loved it,鈥� so I kind of have an advantage in that way,鈥� Lehmann said. 鈥淚 can program whatever I want and people seem to like it all right.鈥�
Another factor in that selection process is Lehmann鈥檚 accompanist. Her pianist for the concert was Chiharu Naruse. Among her long list of educational and performance credentials, Naruse teaches with Lehmann at the Portland Conservatory of Music.
鈥淯nbeknownst to me, I picked three extremely difficult piano parts,鈥� Lehmann said in praise of Naruse ahead of the show. 鈥淪he鈥檚 really got a large task ahead of her and she鈥檚 doing wonderfully.鈥�
Their collegiality reflects one of the major gains for female musicians over the last century. A majority of female performers is the norm when Lehmann plays in an orchestra. The music they play, however, is still overwhelmingly composed by men. She speculated that it might be easier and cheaper to use older music from a time when opportunities were closed to women rather than pay for the rights to use more contemporary music.
The conducting ranks also remain male-dominated. Lehmann was happy to see a break in that cycle when Ruth Reinhardt recently stepped onto the podium as a guest conductor with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. A tendency toward traditionalism is one possible explanation for the disparity.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some sort of conductor myth out there. When people picture a conductor, they picture a man usually,鈥� Lehmann said. 鈥淚 think from the orchestra standpoint, we鈥檙e very open to having a female conductor, but I鈥檓 not sure from the audience side of things.鈥�
The audience for Lehmann鈥檚 performance left no doubt about their feelings with a standing ovation to end the concert. Many in attendance were applauding not only the talent on display but also Lehmann鈥檚 perseverance over adversity. The show was postponed for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic with its restrictions on public gatherings. During that delay, Lehmann also recovered from a broken wrist.
Lehmann exited the concert hall to find a crowd of well-wishers waiting to congratulate her outside the stage door with Fynn Moxcey near the front of the line.
The next entry in the School of Music鈥檚 Faculty Concert Series is set for Friday, April 1, when the Portland Brass Quintet takes the stage at Corthell Hall.