Lots to celebrate for women in music!
FIRST — our revised Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy Grant program is finally unveiled! Read all about it!! Learn more here! The Grants are now being offered every other month, with the first deadline December 9, 2024.
The International Alliance for Women in Music announced the winners of its annual Call For Scores, and a concert featuring their work took place in the Weber Music Hall (Duluth, MN) on October 19th, 2024. The concert was a mix of pieces for ensembles large and small, mixing up and bringing into the spotlight instruments that don’t always get to shine in the context of a full symphony orchestra. There were also electroacoustic elements, particularly in Zhang’s and LeMieux’s pieces—not a traditional orchestral sound, but one that is becoming increasingly popular with contemporary composers. The winners are a diverse mix of students, freelancers, and composition professors, and they are both early-career and established composers: Stefania de Kenessey, for Unorthodox Redux; Chia-Yu Hsu, for Urban Sketches; Jiyu Hu, for The Romantic Nebula; Sarah LeMieux, for 20 Years; Lucy Shirley, for I Think I Should Have Loved You; Qingye Wu, for Waves; Sum Yee Lee, for Ondine; and Ningxin Zhang, for Travelers among Mountains and Streams. IAWM features each of the winners on their Instagram. They are currently appearing alongside winners of the 43rd Annual Search for New Music. Composers, take note! The deadline for this annual search is usually in March.
Below is a recording of winner Chiayu Hsu’s Taiwan Miniatures, performed by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra.
Susanna Mälkki conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert on October 31. It featured the New York premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Duende: The Dark Notes—a piece written for Mälkki and violin soloist Leila Josefowicz. Julia Wolfe’s Fountain of Youth also has had hearings from the New York Philharmonic from November 7 –14, under the baton of Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The NYTimes had this essay on the concerts of the Finnish conductors (Paywall-free Link)
Below is a video of Josefowicz on Francesconi’s concerto:
The New York Philharmonic is officially firing principal oboist Liang Wang and associate principal trumpet Matthew Muckey, who were both reported for patterns of sexual assault and abuses of power against female colleagues and students. The orchestra announced on Monday that it has issued a notice of non-engagement to both men, effective September 21, 2025, and their union (Local 802) has elected not to contest that decision. Advocate and oboist Katherine Needleman has posted and organized many of the documents, open letters, and analysis around the decision on her Substack, and they are available to all viewers. Current (conservatively) estimated costs of this arbitration are $117,316.40, paid by Local 802 union dues. We are nowhere close to achieving real justice for these men’s victims. We can only hope that the case will begin to prove to orchestra boards and union reps how expensive it is to protect their male members who behave this way.
The Dallas Symphony orchestra highlighted the talents of conductor Anu Tali and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott on a program (performed Nov. 1-3) that included the music of Amy Beach and Alisson Kruusmaa. Beach’s Piano Concerto is always a favorite, and served as the centerpiece of the performance. Unlike many other concerti, which often take the formula of “soloist versus orchestra,” Beach’s concerto has much more consistent dialogue between soloist and ensemble. It has moments of joyful virtuosity that let McDermott show the magnitude of her skill—what’s a concerto for, after all?—but lacks the antagonism of some other famous examples in the genre. (McDermott also recently performed Beach’s Concerto in Springfield, MA, as reviewed by the WPA’s Liane Curtis here). Kruusmaa’s Five Arabesques are scored for string orchestra, and they focus on exploring the different sounds and techniques that such an ensemble has available to it: extremes of high and low registers, transparent harmonics, rich chords, and the organized chaos of aleatory. The combination makes for a dramatic and emotional listening experience.
Below is a direct SoundCloud link to Kruusmaa’s Five Arabesques.
In more Amy Beach news, the Columbia River Gorge Orchestra (Oregon, east of Portland) takes on Beach’s monumental Symphony “Gaelic” on Nov. 15 and 17. Learn more here, and tickets available here!
On November 17, an event celebrating the life and work of saxophone pioneer Elise Hall will take place at the Royal Room in Seattle in the year of the 100th anniversary of her death. The event has been organized by Barbara Hubers-Drake, a Seattle saxophonist and member of the Bamboo and Brass LTD saxophone quartet. In addition to being a composer of music for saxophone as well as for orchestra, Hall was also a founding member of the Boston Orchestral Club—an orchestra of mixed amateur and professional players formed to promote the study of orchestral works.
Below is an interview on the life and music of Elise Hall with Dr. Paul Cohen of Rutgers University (2021)
Video information, sources, and transcript
Learn more about the upcoming event, and Elise Hall, here.
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