»Contralto« is a one-hour work for video, strings, and percussion that inhabits the space between experimental music and documentary. The piece features a cast of transgender women speaking, singing, and performing vocal exercises, accompanied by a dense and varied musical score that includes a variety of conventional and ›non-musical‹ approaches to sound-making.

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»Souvenir« was written at the request of Jonathan Hepfer of Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles. I was asked to compose a new work inspired by Julius Eastman’s »Masculine«, a piece that was performed only once and of which no recordings or descriptions of its sound survive. My composition is not an attempt to reconstruct or imagine Eastman’s piece, but rather a response to his work »Femenine« which was performed on the same day in Buffalo in 1975. 

In 2020, I performed as the vibraphonist for »Femenine«. It was a remarkable concert – but also a physically grueling experience. The vibraphone carries the central voice of the entire work, and unlike the other instruments, its role is relentless and unforgiving – so rhythmically exacting and precise that there’s no space to lose focus, even for a moment. By the end of the 70-minute performance, my eyes and head ached from staring unblinking at the instrument, my feet were sore from standing in one place, and my back ached from leaning over the vibraphone. Eastman’s decision to use E-flat and F natural – rather than a more forgiving major second – felt almost sadistic in its physical toll. To make matters worse, I was suffering from a stomach virus and spent the entire performance terrified I might get sick mid-piece and bring the concert to a disastrous end.

As a trans woman, how should I respond to works titled »Masculine« and »Femenine«? I can’t possibly claim to know what Eastman might have intended but I can imagine what my life might look like without these words, ›masculine‹ and ›feminine‹ (sic). In this way, I find a kinship with Eastman’s infamous piano works and his reclamation of violent language. The transfeminine experience is one of joy and beauty, but one that necessarily requires hurt and suffering. I rarely see myself reflected in the art of others, and while I’m not sure I enjoyed my performance of »Femenine«, I do feel that Eastman – who paraded around in a dress at the premiere –  must have also felt the throbbing, aching pain and the unbounded joy and beauty of his existence.

Sarah Hennies, born in Louisville, Kentucky, is a composer and percussionist whose work engages with musical, sociopolitical, and psychological issues including queer and trans identity, psychoacoustics, and the social and neurological dimensions of creative thought. While primarily known for her acoustic chamber music, Hennies is also active in improvisation, film, and performance art, presenting her work internationally both as a composer and percussionist. Her music has been featured at leading venues and festivals such as MoMA PS1 (NYC), Warsaw Autumn, and the Darmstadt Summer Course. In 2025, she is Composer-In-Residence at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK). Since 2019, Sarah Hennies has held the position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Bard College. She lives and works in upstate New York.

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