News and music to start your week!
Opera Wire profiles composer Thea Musgrave, pictured above, who has led an extraordinary and prolific career. David Salazar’s essay includes several examples of her works throughout her career.
Happy Birthday to composer Libby Larsen who turned 70 on Christmas Eve! She speaks to the Minnesota Star Tribune about how the pandemic is changing the way she is engaging with music.
The Daffodil Perspective is back for the New Year! In the newest article on her blog she reminds readers that Florence Price is an amazing composer and historical figure, who challenged the odds at ever turn, and came out victorious. But — she’s not the only Black woman composer who deserves our attention or adoration.
At NewMusicBox Dave Molk adds another voice to the conversation regarding the inherent white supremacy in traditional music theory studies, and how to move forward in a more inclusive way. As Molk writes:
Our unwarranted privileging of Western art music—a style constructed by white people as white, despite the historical and ongoing participation of people who aren’t—enables the dismissal of other styles of music and the people associated with those styles through unfavorable and unfair comparisons. How do we reconcile this with our many statements extolling the virtues of diversity, equity, and inclusivity? Why do we continue to rely on a deeply flawed pedagogy?
Congratulations to Stephanie O’Keefe, elected the first female president at the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 – which represents 6,000 musicians through the greater Los Angeles area, and has been around for 123 years. Read more at Deadline.
AND — do you have our 2021 calendar yet? Celebrate women composers every day!