How to Triumph (SSA)

As a straight white male composer I’m trying to figure out my role. How do I bring a diverse type of poetry and music to singers and audiences without overstepping my bounds? I think about my catalog: I’ve written in Estonian, French, Somali, Spanish and Latin, but none of those languages are “mine.” I’ve arranged spirituals, Motown, Rock, Hip-Hop, I’ve arranged tunes from the Irish, Scottish, Appalachians and Norwegians, I’ve written for treble choirs, GALA choruses, and religions that aren’t mine. None of those belong to me. So am I allowed?

When I wrote “How to Triumph,” I was well aware that I was not a woman. One of the singers who premiered the SSA version said as much, and asked why I thought this was a piece I should write. I told her that I felt strongly about this poem and that it needed to be set to music. I realized that in the process of bringing women’s poetry to life for a female singer, I was the gender outlier in that chain as a male composer. But I wanted this story to be heard on stage and I knew how I’d want it to be told. I knew the kind of reaction I wanted the singer and the audience to feel. I knew that if I succeeded, it wouldn’t matter what my gender was. I didn’t want to set this poem for my own use, but for the musical experience of others. I wanted to do my part in lifting up women, to help them see themselves as strong. The gift here is the poetry of these women and the journey.

– Timothy C. Takach