As we celebrate and reflect on the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, Emlyn Johnson and Daniel Ketter spotlight the stories of two female trailblazers.

Johnson and Ketter, music faculty at Missouri State University, collaborated with composers and performers from the Midwest to tell the stories of Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart.

Female aviators inspire new music

“We really wanted to try and find some inspiring women who lived close to where we were living now, to tell stories relevant to the places that we would be performing the music,” Ketter said.

Though most will be familiar with Earhart’s legacy, Coleman may be lesser known.

“Bessie Coleman was actually the first woman of Native American and African American heritage to hold a pilot’s license. She was quite a fearless daredevil and a really amazing character,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Ketter commissioned new music from Ingrid Stolzel, University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Carolina Heredia, University of Missouri, for this project.

About the project

This collaboration was an expansion of their Music in the American Wild project.

This project is supported in part by an award from Mid-America Arts Alliance with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

They will perform this work throughout the region this spring, with a concert at Missouri State University April 13.

Learn more about the project

Read the transcript