PERFORMER/COMPOSER:

A performing musician since the 1960's, Truex has been active in a wide range of musical genres and contexts. She is recognized as an innovator for her use of the dulcimer in jazz, pop, free improvisational music and other settings beyond the familiar folk and traditional realms. She has extensive experience working with dance and theater ensembles, both as a composer and on stage musical accompanist. As a recording artist Ms. Truex has been involved with many projects for other artists as well as her own solo and group releases.

Truex currently performs regularly with two groups:
Loopin', an eclectic ensemble lead by Persian percussionist Shamou. The group plays dance music that blends folk influences from African, Brazilian, Middle-eastern, Cuban, and many more cultures with a contemporary flair.

Truex plays rub-board and assorted percussion for a group of accordion players known as The Maine Squeeze .

RECORD PRODUCER

In addition to her own recordings, Truex has produced three other recordings:

Myth Songs, Nick Humez
Faces in the Stone, Veronica Sacred Arts
New Sounds Blue Hill Vol 1, Maine Composers’ Forum compilation

MUSIC INSTRUCTOR:
Barbara Truex has taught guitar, dulcimer, music theory and improvisation for over 30 years. She teaches through private instruction, workshops, and school residencies. Her workshops include building cardboard dulcimers (great for ages 10 and older) and making instruments from found objects as well as sessions on stringed instruments. She has developed and led music programs for preschool centers, after schoool theater programs, taught adults through Parks and Recretions Departments and worked with children and adults with various larning disabilities. She also gives workshops and lectures on sound design for college and high school theater students.

RADIO PROGRAMER/PRODUCER:
Ms. Truex has been involved with WMPG FM in Portland, Maine, for 18 years. She currently hosts a weekly program entitled "Crossfade" on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to noon. The program focuses on world music and explores the boundaries between folk and other genres, and interesting collaborations with musicians from different cultures. She also served as a programmer on WPKN FM in Bridgeport, CT (1985-89). While on WPKN Ms. Truex included a half hour weekly section devoted to children's issues and music.

THEATER SOUND DESIGNER:
As a sound designer, Ms. Truex has worked with many southern Maine theaters and dance companies including Mad Horse Theatre Company, The Theater Project, Bowdoin College Theater Department, Portland Stage Company, Acorn Productions, Veronica Sacred Arts, and Ram Island Dance. She frequently composes original scores and often performs the scores live for productions. She is an ensemble member of the Mad Horse Theatre Company.

SOUND DESIGN PERFORMANCE HISTORY:

Original scores have been written for productions of the Mad Horse Theatre Company (Portland, Maine), Acorn Productions (Portland, Maine), and The Theater Project (Brunswick, Maine).

Betrayal  by Harold Pinter
*Repossession by Payne Ratner
*Off the Map by Joan Ackerman
The Bacchae (music direction and performance)
The Laramie Project  by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project
The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht
Matching Shadows with Homer by Al Miller
Pushing Through by Shauna Kanter (funded by Meet the Composer grant)
Various dance performances for Ram Island Dance Company

* selections from these shows can be heard on Scene & Heard.

Other sound designs have been created for these companies as well as for
Bowdoin College, Portland Stage Company, Michael Lane Trautman, Ram Island Dance,
GrayHall Productions, Flaming Productions, and Veronica Sacred Arts.

A gallery installation collaboration with lighting designer Joan Sand and artist Susan Mills
was mounted at the CW White Gallery in Portland, ME in 2002.
Portions of that music can be heard on her recording Scene & Heard.

PRODUCTION/PROJECT COORDINATION:

Barbara Truex has been involved in all aspects of arts administration and production for over 30 years.
From concert production, festival organizing, and project coordination to bookkeeping, conference coordinating, and grant writing she is sought after as a thorough and responsible leader.

ARTS ADMINISTRATOR :

She is an OWNER/PARTNER of Arts Resource Service: A full spectrum arts consultation company. Founded in the mid-1980's by Truex's husband, Christopher White, ARS provides clients with numerous services. White and Truex utilize their combined talents and experience to serve a broad based group of clients including organizations and individuals. ARS provides an extremely wide range of services including; brokering art sales, exhibition design and installation, database creation and management, grant writing, Board development, fund raising, performance bookings, financial management, and more.

Clients have included:

Mad Horse Theatre Company
Figures of Speech Theatre
Portland Stage Company
Oak Street Theatre
Maine Composers’ Forum
A Company of Girls
Bates Dance Festival
Maine Jazz Alliance
Veronica Sacred Arts (now Veronica Institute for Life Story)
Maine Performing Arts Network
21st Century Community Learning Center’s 4-state New England conference

She founded the Northeast Dulcimer Symposium in 1982 and directed it for 17 years. NDS is a week-long intensive session for mountain and hammer dulcimer students of all ages and levels that is held in Blue Mountain Lake NY.