News and music to start your week!

We were very excited to hear a story on NPR’s All Things Considered about the lack of women’s music heard at the symphony.  The piece explores the current statistics in conversation with Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon.  Listen below – and read WPA President Liane Curtis’s reaction to the story here.

The website I Care if You Listen has a conversation with composer Ellen Reid – specifically about her work as a co-founder of the Luna Composition Lab, which offers mentorship by and for female and nonbinary composers.

Emily Hogstad of Song of the Lark writes about forgotten composer Adela Maddison.   Maddison’s 1910 opera “Der Talisman” was performed in Leipzig to enthusiastic reviews.  Hogstad links to the recent recording of her Piano Quintet.  A fascinating read about the complex histories of women in music, and the intricate research processes necessary so that their stories can be remembered.

The Women Composers Festival of Hartford has announced their 2019 Featured Artists!  The Ensemble-in-Residence is The Nouveau Classical Project, and all-women contemporary classical music ensemble based in New York.  The Composer-in-Residence is Jennifer Jolley!

Last week NPR reported on the Barbershop Harmony Society changing their 80 year old policy to allow women to join.  Founded in 1938 the originally all-white organization opened to people of color in 1963, but it took until 2018 to also extend admittance to women.