Secrets of Life After Bennington as a Composer and Musician: A Conversation with Tina Davidson '76

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | A Q&A with composer Tina Davidson '76 about her work and career.

Tina Davidson is a highly regarded American composer known for her distinctive voice and praised by the New York Times for her “vivid ear for harmony and colors.” Davidson earned her BA in piano and composition from Bennington College in 1976, studying under Henry Brant, Louis Calabro, Vivian Fine, and Lionel Nowak.

Her memoir, Let Your Heart Be Broken: Life and Music from a Classical Composer (2023), is now available from Boyle & Dalton. Her memoir traces her extraordinary life in equally lyrical language, juxtaposing memories, journal entries, notes on compositions in progress, and insights into the life of an artist—and a mother—at work.

Tina Davidson's composition The Scent of Apples, inspired by the poems of Robert Frost, premieres at the Bennington Museum on Sunday, September 22 at 2:00 pm. Distinguished percussionist and percussion professor at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign, Josh Graham will bring this evocative piece to life at Bennington Museum to kick off the 10th season of Music at the Museum. The program is presented in partnership with Bennington College and the Robert Frost Stone House Museum. The work will also be previewed exclusively for the Bennington College Community at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum on Friday, September 20 at 4:00 pm.