2020 was the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in Wyoming. Rachel Bailey, the executive director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, said they wanted to do something special to honor it.
"We were brainstorming, and really our brainstorming process was sort of around playing pieces by female composers," she said.
But Bailey said the idea grew from there and they decided to commission a piece by a female composer. That person turned out to be Stephanie Anne Boyd, chosen because she writes pieces that deal with the feminine ideal and the experience of women in contemporary times.
In 2019, Boyd was flown to Wyoming from her home in New York to experience the landscapes, communities and women of the state. She said she was inspired by her visit.
"I'm going to try to evoke the feeling of being in a canyon with all of the multicolored rock on either side, and just the awe of it. But then also, you have to have the counterpoint in the striving and the intellectual journey of a lot of these women involved," said Boyd.
On Saturday, March 12, the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra will premiere Julia Louisa Esther. It focuses on the stories of three women: Julia Bright, whose husband introduced the suffrage bill to the Wyoming Legislature, Louisa Ann Swain who was the first woman to cast a ballot in the state, and Esther Hobart Morris who was the first woman to hold public office when she was appointed justice of the peace.
Online or virtual tickets can be found online.
