Feminist in the Concert Hall
Hilary Tann
Welsh-born Hilary Tann is a contemporary composer currently living and teaching in New York State. She writes for large and small ensembles and her work is most often characterized as lyrical, with Tann drawing inspiration from the natural world, especially that of...
Vivian Fine
American-born Vivian Fine (1913-2000) was a child prodigy on piano and began composing at age thirteen. She worked consistently as composer for almost seventy years and was a student of Ruth Crawford Seeger, who saw her as a protegée. She was only sixteen when she...
Nkeiru Okoye
Nkeiru Okoye was born in New York (1972), and growing up, frequently visited her father’s native Nigeria. She won a song-writing competition at age 13, and decided to study composition seriously. She received degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory (BA) and Rutgers...
Sofia Gubaidulina’s Offertorium Chosen for Nelsons’ First BSO Season
If a work by a female composer is actually programmed by a major metropolitan orchestra, but that city's most respected and widely-circulated newspaper fails to mention it, do we have progress? The Boston Symphony Orchestra will perform Sofia Gubaidulina's violin...
Marion Bauer: Educator and Composer
Marion Bauer (1882-1955) was born in Washington state the youngest of seven children to working class immigrant parents. But even though resources were limited, the Bauers supported their daughter's musical aptitude. Though she studied extensively, including being...
International Women’s Day and the Boulanger Sisters
Today is International Women's Day! And to celebrate, today's post is about two sisters who made an international impression during their lives, and after. Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) were French natives, and sisters who were born into...