Enthusiastic and Animated (Literally), 'Allegra Sparkle' on Mission to Promote Women Composers

As screenwriter and music educator Lille Gardner began designing a series to raise awareness of women composers, her ideas for the main narrator gradually evolved into Allegra Sparkle, a young, energetic music lover with big pink headphones and a cat named Florence, named for composer Florence Price. With concept art created by her sister, Jane Gardner, Lillie Gardner hopes to turn her award-winning script idea into a series that could air on television or online, called "Allegra Sparkles Guide to the Great Composers (You Might Not Have Heard of)," introducing audiences to composers such as Price, Hildegard von Bingen, Elisabetta de Gambarini, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Margaret Bonds and Queen Lili’uokalani, as well as those from other underrepresented groups. A Tempo host Rachel Katz this week speaks with Lillie Gardner about how her own interest in women composers led to her vision for Allegra Sparkle, and where she hopes to take Allegra in the future.