The work of Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy is to recognize and honor the work of historic and contemporary women composers, encourage performances of their works. That the work of women composers has been left out of the canon because it simply isn’t...
Saturday (September 5) marks the 148th birthday of American composer Amy Beach. She is remembered today as being the first American woman to achieve acclaim as a symphonist. Her first (and only symphony), which was subtitled “Gaelic”, was premiered by the...
As those of us in the U.S. get the grill and lawn chairs ready to celebrate the 4th of July, why not take a few minutes to listen to some patriotic music? American composer Joan Tower was approached about completing a new work in 2001 – but it wasn’t a...
Happy Birthday to Mildred Hill, born June 27, 1859. Though her name isn’t familiar, Mildred Hill (1859-1916) composed what is arguably the most popular and recognizable melody sung today. A musicologist, educator, and songwriter, Hill, along with her...
Today is the birthday of internationally acclaimed American composer, and the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Liane Curtis and I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen at the 2014 Society for American Music Conference where her...
Artistic directors, conductors, and radio playlist makers, love to acknowledge composer birthdays. In fact, we just discussed how significant birthdays can impact programming on a national level as orchestras include tribute concerts in their annual programming. ...
