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Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Offering a uniquely musical perspective on the #MeToo experience, this is the story of a talented and fiercely determined musician—a young woman with everything to gain and, ultimately, nothing left to lose—who finds a way through despite multiple betrayals by the men in her life.
Jealous of her brilliant older sister, Ernestine longs for her father’s approval as a little girl but is never good enough. When she discovers a talent for the flute, she meets a charismatic teacher who gives her the encouragement she craves and becomes her surrogate father. After winning several competitions, she dreams of being a professional musician, but her stern father ridicules the idea and forces her to attend Emory University as a math major like her sister.
Ernestine doesn’t give up on her musical dreams, however, and halfway through college she wins the second flute chair in the Atlanta Symphony. There, she sits beside her former teacher, the principal flute. At first, she loves working with him, but after one successful season he turns on her and does everything in his power to get her fired. Devastated by her idol’s merciless harassment, she’s driven into a spiral of suicidal depression. As she tries to recover, her vulnerability is exploited, again and again, by the very men she turns to for help.
A harrowing account of one woman’s battle with twentieth-century misogyny, Countermelodies follows Ernestine as, through the darkness, she clings to her love for the flute and her unshakable dream of making it in the cutthroat world of classical music.
Jealous of her brilliant older sister, Ernestine longs for her father’s approval as a little girl but is never good enough. When she discovers a talent for the flute, she meets a charismatic teacher who gives her the encouragement she craves and becomes her surrogate father. After winning several competitions, she dreams of being a professional musician, but her stern father ridicules the idea and forces her to attend Emory University as a math major like her sister.
Ernestine doesn’t give up on her musical dreams, however, and halfway through college she wins the second flute chair in the Atlanta Symphony. There, she sits beside her former teacher, the principal flute. At first, she loves working with him, but after one successful season he turns on her and does everything in his power to get her fired. Devastated by her idol’s merciless harassment, she’s driven into a spiral of suicidal depression. As she tries to recover, her vulnerability is exploited, again and again, by the very men she turns to for help.
A harrowing account of one woman’s battle with twentieth-century misogyny, Countermelodies follows Ernestine as, through the darkness, she clings to her love for the flute and her unshakable dream of making it in the cutthroat world of classical music.
Product Details
- Publisher: She Writes Press (September 24, 2024)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781647427337
Raves and Reviews
2024 NYC Big Book Awards Winner in Memoir
“A disturbing and compelling tale of resilience, determination, and musical passion.”—Kirkus Reviews
"Whitman has composed a remarkable work, a musical memoir that is symphonic in scope, emotional range, and musical nuance . . . she expertly weaves together themes of heart wrenching tragedy and despair with themes of uplifting joy and triumph. And pulsing beneath each word, sentence, and melodic phrase, the undeniable transformational power of courage, resilience, and hope. Once I began the musical journey, I couldn’t put it down. Brava!"—Brian Pertl, Dean, Lawrence Conservatory of Music
“. . . In this memoir you will learn about the inner workings of professional orchestras and brush shoulders with luminaries, but the most important lesson it delivers is how to overcome pernicious self-doubt.”—?Jean Feraca, author of I Hear Voices: A Memoir of Love, Death, and the Radio
“In her candid and courageous memoir, flutist Ernestine Whitman traces the long term impact of psychological abuse encountered within a dysfunctional family . . . will be of great interest to music lovers curious about the professional music world and the need for steely determination in order to survive and succeed.”—?Leone Buyse, Professor Emerita, The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University; former principal flutist, Boston Pops Orchestra and acting principal flutist, Boston Symphony Orchestra
“When Ernestine Whitman became a professional flutist, classical music was a man’s world. Opposed by her judgmental father, she learned to fight for her art, navigating encounters with dangerously insecure men and holding fast to her flute until it became the means of her transcendence. At turns funny and frightening, Countermelodies is a glorious masterclass in music history, feminist resilience, and memory.”—?David McGlynn, author of The End of the Straight and Narrow and One Day You’ll Thank Me
“What was it like to forge a path as a woman in a male-dominated field generations before the #MeToo movement? . . . a courageous, engrossing, and exquisitely written portrait of the artist as a young woman. Part coming of age, part coming to terms, Countermelodies is the story of a gifted flutist making her way in classical music at a time when men got away with unimaginable abuses of power. Like the most sophisticated sonatas, it’s stirring, unsettling, and, in the end, triumphant.”—?Eleanor Henderson, professor at Ithaca College and author of Ten Thousand Saints and Everything I Have Is Yours: A Marriage
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