Mat-Su Concert Band presents: “Women of Note”

PALMER— The Mat-Su Concert Band is set to perform classic and contemporary songs with a feminine touch at this Saturday’s “Women of Note” concert. The community band will perform songs written by female composers and they will be accompanied by guest conductor Barbara Carroll, the new Palmer High School music teacher.

“Everyone knows all these prominent, male composers but there are a lot of really good composers out there, they’re just not getting the light,” Carroll said.

MSCB director and band conductor, Gleo Huyck asked Carrol if she would be interested in being a guest conductor since she has extensive experience and having a female composer would prove the theme of the evening: talented women in music.

Carroll has played for the MSCB for five years in the Alto section. This will be her first time conducting this eclectic group of musicians, composed of many walks of life, from doctors to lawyers and even her own mother on the bassoon.

Carroll said that as a band director at her school, she finds it important to keep her musical and instrumental skills sharp, so playing with her community seemed a fitting way to hone her craft, making sure she has the skills she encourages her students to develop.

“It’s import for my kids, and it’s important to me that I still play,” Carroll said.

Carrol will lead a piece by Carol Barnett, an award winning, contemporary composer. Gleo approached her with three songs he really liked and Carroll picked the one she liked the best. She may be partial to the composer’s first name.

“It’s mixed meter; it’s a pretty challenging piece,” Carroll said. “It’s pretty cool.”

When Carroll first started conducting, she said she encountered sexism in the industry, feeling like female conductors were undervalued.

“It was kind of seen as a man’s profession and I know that sounds horrible,” Carroll said.

She experienced this gender gap first-hand back her early years in Colorado. During her fist competition, her band was docked, unfairly, she thought, by a band judge from Texas.

“He said, and I quote, ‘little darlin’ don’t you know this is a man’s world?’” Carroll recalled.

The show starts this Saturday at the Glenn Massay Theater from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $7 for students, and children five and under are admitted for free. Tickets be purchased at the door or online at www.matsuconcertband.org/concerts