Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1

• Tower originally composed this piece in 1986, for brass, timpani and percussion.¹
• This piece was the first in a series of six. Tower composed Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 2 in 1989, No. 3 in 1991, and No. 4, for orchestra, in 1992).² The fifth, for brass, was composed in 1993, and the sixth, originally composed for piano and then arranged for orchestra, was composed in 2016.³
• The title is a conscious reference to Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.⁴

“Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1 was inspired by Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and employs, in fact, the same instrumentation. In addition, the original theme resembles the first theme in the Copland. It is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous. Written under the Fanfare Project and commissioned by the Houston Symphony, the premiere performance was on January 10, 1987, with the Houston Symphony, Hans Vonk, conductor. This work is dedicated to the conductor Marin Alsop.”

Joan Tower’s program note for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1⁵

1. Ellen K. Grolman, “Tower, Joan,” Grove Music Online (January 31, 2014), accessed February 24, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002258544. 
2. Ibid.
3. Ellen Grolman, “ ‘Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman’–Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor; Joan Tower, composer (1999),” Library of Congress, accessed February 24, 2022, https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/FanfaresForTheUncommonWoman.pdf.
4. Grolman, “Tower, Joan,” Grove Music Online
5. “Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman (1986),” Wise Music Classical, accessed February 24, 2022, https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/33991/Fanfare-for-the-Uncommon-Woman–Joan-Tower/.