New Opera by Anne LeBaron

by sarah | Jun 19, 2015

Award winning composer Anne LeBaron has a new opera exploring the micro-tonality of Harry Partch and the mind altering effects of drugs.  The work is called LSD: The Opera, and several new scenes from the work are being performed this week in Los Angeles.  For more...

Recognizing Operas by Women

by sarah | Apr 20, 2015

Last week it was announced that Opera America will be awarding Discovery Grants to seven women composers in support of the development of their operas.  The Opera Grants for Female Composers program is funded by The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, which also funds the...

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

by sarah | Jun 10, 2014

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...

Kaija Saariaho: A Primer

by SMBrown | Mar 31, 2014

By Susan M. Brown Though now hailed as one of the greatest Finnish composers of her generation, Kaija Saariaho readily recalls a time at the Sibelius Academy when male teachers balked at teaching a “pretty girl,” claiming it was a waste of their time. But...

Wang Jie on the Fast Track

by SMBrown | Mar 28, 2014

In a relatively short time Wang Jie has made quite an impression on the classical music establishment. Last June the Orchestra of the League of Composers premiered Wang’s Oboe Concerto for the Genuine Hearts of Sadness, a work it had commissioned with funding in...

Judith Weir

by sarah | Mar 17, 2014

Judith Weir (b. 1954) is a British composer who is actively commissioned and performed.  In 2007 she became the third recipient of the Queen’s Medal for Music.  Born in Cambridge to Scottish parents, she often draws inspiration from medieval history, and is...