Everyone knows Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and many other composers, whether you're a fan of classical music or not. But the field throughout history has been overwhelmingly male. Most people would be challenged to name a woman composer. I was a music major in college with a focus on music history, and almost no women were taught. We never heard examples of pieces composed by women, and that there were in fact woman composers was a subject only mentioned as a curiosity. But there's a long history of women's involvement in Western music, and some very surprising stories behind both the composers and their music.
For instance: Do you know about the woman who crashed her lover's wedding to give him a composition as a wedding present? What about the woman who gave a command performance at the White House for President Lincoln -- not once, but twice? Have you heard the story of the woman who invented her own language, or the one about the woman who rejected the advances of an emperor? Do you know the first woman to compose an opera, or the first African America woman to be a major player in the symphonic scene?
I've been doing a lot of research into the subject and plan to present a program on Monday, June 23, 2025 at 6:30 pm. It'll be an overview of over 1,000 years of compositions by women and some of the reasons why these people aren't more well known. Some of them were quite prominent in their day and achieved surprising levels of fame. So why don't we know them today? Others' works were completely suppressed and we only know of their work as composers because of the writings of other people. Why is that? It's a fascinating subject, and we'll delve into it as much as we can.
For more information about the Women Composers program, CLICK HERE.
If you're interested in reading more about some of the great composers -- male and female -- here are some suggested resources:
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