In conversation with Dale Trumbore!

Here at Graphite, we celebrate the many facets of our composers. Some of them write more than music, they write books! Composer Dale Trumbore has not one, but TWO books available: Staying Composed & Composing a Living. We spoke with Dale about her important work and what it contributes to the wonderful world of music.

Your books provide wisdom and guidance to developing composers. The first, Staying Composed, addresses the complexities of succeeding as a composer or anyone in a creative field. What motivated you to tackle this important topic?

When I was younger, I desperately wanted advice that could tell me how to become a working composer: resources on craft, business, and the mental hurdles that come with being an artist. As an adult, I want to create those resources for other composers, almost as a way of time-traveling back to help my past self. That’s the logic behind Staying Composed, the essays on my website, and even the work I do as editor-in-chief of Graphite’s Take Note magazine. Composers and conductors need great resources about the complexities of navigating our field, especially regarding the trickier mental health aspects of this career. When we have these tools, it becomes easier to manage anxiety and return our focus to the music we love.

Have you heard any feedback from people who found it helpful? If so, what have they shared?

Yes! I published Staying Composed in 2019 and have gotten a lot of positive feedback since then. Some people read the book years ago; other readers are just now discovering it. I’m always fascinated by the people who read it who aren’t composers but nonetheless got a lot out of the book. My favorite feedback is the really specific comments, like when readers say something like “I just finished a project, was feeling really sad and empty, and turned back to the chapter about success hangovers to recenter myself.”

What lessons did you learn while writing it?

It was so helpful to codify my own strategies in print. The lessons in Staying Composed are anchored in my hard-earned experience, but that doesn’t mean I’m now exempt from feeling anxiety or self-doubt. Sometimes I even turn back to that “success hangover” chapter to remind myself that I’ve made it through the letdown after a big project before, and I’ll make it through again.

Hopefully, you learn not to “add anxiety to anxiety” and instead ask what strategy will best serve you this time, letting you move through your fears, jealousies, and blocks with as much grace as possible.

Your second book, Composing a Living, focuses on the business side of working as a professional musician and was co-authored with Brandon Elliott. How did you two conceive the book and what did each of you bring to the table?

I was taking the metro to downtown Los Angeles a few years ago when Brandon texted that he had been thinking we could write a great book together. (We’d previously worked on an album, How to Go On, as well as several premieres for his professional chorus, Chorus Arts Initiative.) I had just been thinking how wonderful it would be to write a book about the business side of composition, but I knew I couldn’t do it alone, because of some gaps in my music business knowledge. Brandon and I had an initial conversation about what that book could look like, and I got so excited about the project that I missed my metro stop.

We were very aligned in what we wanted to include in the book, and we ended up sticking pretty closely to our initial plan and timeline. Brandon brought his immense knowledge of music business and his firsthand experience working within the music industry, including working with many composers as the artistic director of a professional chorus. I shared my experience as a composer: business mistakes that I’ve learned from and best practices I’ve honed over the years. The twenty-eight composers we interviewed gave great advice, serving as case studies for the many ways composers can support themselves through music.

What do you think is the number one barrier or challenge for a professional musician to succeed financially?

With inflation, decreased public funding for the arts in the U.S., and a nationwide lack of affordable housing, it’s harder than ever to make a living as a freelancer. For many musicians, that means cobbling together a number of day jobs just to get by.

I think the most intimidating and wonderful part of this career—the blessing and curse of being a working musician, really—is that there’s no single right way to make a living. There’s no “right answer.” You get to decide how you want to approach your career, based on how much security you need, how much risk you can tolerate, and what resources are available to you.

Those resources extend way beyond purely financial ones, and relationships are so key to succeeding as a musician. This is something that Brandon and I talk about a lot in the book; we even wrote an article about it for I Care If You Listen for those musicians who feel like they don’t yet have a strong community and want to build one.

Once you’ve built a strong network, you stop waiting for things to land at your door; you have more power and control over your career. For example, as a composer, you have the ability to tell your network about your new works for purchase. You can launch a consortium. You can reach out to your network to make it known that you’re looking for new work. When you need advice or support, you can turn to people you trust.

What else would you like to share with Graphite readers?

I was really surprised that when we interviewed professional composers for Composing a Living, many of them said they were looking forward to reading the book, because there were gaps in their own knowledge of the music business. I know several conductors who have said they learned a lot from the book, too, and that they had a new appreciation for what composers need to succeed. Even I learned some lessons about legal strategies and other business tips in the co-writing process! I truly hope that anyone, no matter their background, could find helpful lessons in both Staying Composed and Composing a Living.