The Commissioned Choral Works of Mari Ésabel Valverde: Toward the Creation of Affirming Spaces for Trans and Gender Expansive Singers

Abstract

Choral conductors who seek to create welcoming and affirming spaces for transgender and gender expansive (TGE) singers have many things to consider. Programming music by TGE composers can be part of creating a welcoming and affirming space, and allows singers to see themselves represented in the music literature. The main focus of this study is to identify and provide information about repertoire by a trans composer, Mari Ésabel Valverde, in support of creating welcoming and affirming choral spaces. Mari Ésabel Valverde (she/her), born September 8, 1987, is a contemporary trans composer whose catalog currently includes over sixty-six choral, chamber, orchestral, and vocal works. Her forty-five choral works feature SATB, SSAA and TTBB voicings, and accompanying forces include piano, violin, and harp. Among these are ten commissioned works for SATB choir that were composed between 2015 and 2023. In order to facilitate inclusion of these ten works on concert programs, I have provided a brief biography of the composer as well as information about the poets and texts of each work; information about the circumstances of the commission; and a musical analysis including information regarding form, text-setting, harmony, rhythm, melody, and texture.