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. Scroll down for the highlights, or hop over to the full interview at our Take Note blog space!

Side note: if you’re just here for the music, check out these newly released pieces!

Light Like Letters	Star Field	Tritina for Patience	Listening in Deep Space
Dale Trumbore SSA(A) Chorus & Piano Difficulty: 3 Duration: 10-20 min.	Dale Trumbore SSA Chorus & Piano Difficulty: 3 Duration: 3-5 min.	Dale Trumbore SSA Chorus & Piano Difficulty: 3 Duration: 3-5 min.	Dale Trumbore SATB div. a cappella Difficulty: 5 Duration: 10-20 min.

Highlights from the full interview:

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.

What lessons did you learn while writing it? 

As an artist, “staying composed” doesn’t mean you conquer your anxiety once and never have to do it again. It’s about developing a practice that sustains you. The more familiar you become with your process, the better you get at knowing when to push through and when to rest. You may never stop feeling some anxiety, but the real trick is how you meet it when it arrives.

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? 

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. 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.

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

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. 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.

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Written with contributions from Jonathan Campbell.