The ultimate list of female composers

Where are all the female composers?

When I participated in the Women’s March in Washington DC I tapped into a collective consciousness of women’s oppression in the twenty-first century and it made me really curious about how women expressed themselves (through music in my case) in the absence of political and socioeconomic equality throughout the centuries. I believe that women’s ability to express themselves can lead to greater social change and the betterment of all people.

I was already developing the seeds for the Voices of Women project with my pianist Mila Henry, and she was very excited about exploring this new lens of exposure with me, so we began researching and consulting with living female composers as well, which turned into the commission of a new piece by a female composer which is included on the Voices of Women album.

The stigma of women’s voices being inferior to men’s is a pretty big hurdle to clear. We see this in numerous studies. As more men are in the room, either in professional or personal circles, women’s voices are traditionally de-valued. So composers as well as performers of vocal music who are women have faced this challenge head on in both public and private arenas. It is an ongoing trend that we are happy to work against in our programming choices. It has now become more trendy to include works by female composers on concert programming, and we believe we were a part of that shift.

The ongoing issues of sexism are prevalent in today’s society. Within some cultures women are still oppressed in every way imaginable, and I think female composers might internalize these struggles in their work. In any case, having those artists who can “champion” their works remains a bigger challenge for female composers because they tend to lag behind men in their income and access to continuing education, especially in some cultures and socio-economic situations.

We have seen women objectified and verbally assaulted by the President of the United States, who still holds a position of much influence in the world. The me too movement has made us aware of the abuses of power and the consequences that can occur when women speak up. Female composers can choose to speak up for women too, and shine a lens of exposure on the issues of being female in our culture, educating and enlightening the path for women across the globe. Through creating music, they can give hope to many who are still oppressed and attacked.

Two of the composers featured on our album have excelled in using a model of entrepreneurialism: Both are American. Libby Larsen and Paola Prestini are the two women to learn from in this respect and both have excellent websites to explore.

I hope to share the newest works of female composers, as well as celebrating some older masterpieces which are not well known, and to continue to educate others about these works and their creators. I especially want to continue to learn as I teach, and so I’ll be engaging with the artists themselves as much as possible and sharing those insights with the blog’s followers.