Symphony Guide Featuring Louise Farrenc

In case you missed it, Tom Service, music critic for The Guardian, featured Louise Farrenc’s Third Symphony in his running Symphony Guide series on his blog.  It’s always wonderful to see a historic(!) woman(!)’s work being featured in a serious...

BBC School Initiative: Ten Pieces

Word  was just released about a new initiative spearheaded by the BBC in British primary schools to awaken youth to classical music, and to get them enthusiastic from a  young age.  The program, as described by the BBC, is to bring professional musicians into schools...

A Round-Up of Recent Headlines on the Fat-Shaming Incident

The current role, and expectations, of women in music have been in the headlines as of late—all surrounding reception of a recent production Der Rosenkavalier and the size (not the talent) of the singer playing Octavian.  The critical reviews of acclaimed...

Egypt’s Blind Women’s Orchestra

I recently learned about the only orchestra for blind women musicians in the world. Named Al Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope), the blind woman orchestra of Egypt was founded in 1954. The ensemble has traveled the world and has taken great care in training these women...

Iran’s First Female Conductor

Public Radio International (PRI) aired a story yesterday on Nazanin Aghakhani – the first woman to conduct an orchestra in Iran. Listen (or find the full text) here. Here is a clip from Aghakani’s YouTube page:   A composer as well as a conductor, you...