Lots of ensembles are getting in their celebratory Women’s History Month concerts this week! Performances have been a mix of classic names and pieces (Florence Price, Amy Beach) as well as the new and and some less familiar historic works.
On March 22, the Community Music Center of Houston presented their Women’s History Month concert at St. James Episcopal Church (3129 Southmore Blvd., Houston, TX). The concert featured the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra and music by women composers including: Donna Weng Friedman, Stefania de Kenessey, and Jacqueline Pickett. Friedman (pianist) and Pickett (bassist) will also perform as guest artists with the orchestra. The ensemble writes
“what makes this concert truly unique is the intergenerational collaboration. Original pieces written by Black girls from Houston area high schools will also be performed by the Scott Joplin Chamber Orchestra. These young women have developed their works under the guidance of our guest artists, and their voices will debut on the same stage as these world-class professionals. This program serves as a professional bridge and a pipeline for underrepresented talent, ensuring the next generation is heard in a professional and entertaining experience!”
This event in funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and by the Texas Commission of the Arts. Below is Microvids (2025), a related collaborative album featuring the music of Stefania de Kenessey, piano talents of Donna Weng Friedman, and the New Jersey Youth Symphony.
On March 22, the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra (Massachusetts) presented their concert “Women Compose!” for Women’s History Month. It featured Lera Auerbach’s Requiem for Icarus (the final movement of her first symphony), Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations, Kati Agócs’ Shenanigan, Autumn Maria Reed’s Mental Health Suite, and Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 1. In addition, the orchestra performed their commission Elegy in Memoriam Dianne Mahany (written by Mark Latham, director) honoring the former principal clarinetist, orchestra board member, and cherished friend of many onstage.
On March 24, the Eastbourne Concert Orchestra (U.K.) presents an orchestral program entirely dedicated to the works of female composers. Such a concert is an Eastbourne first, and a fantastic addition to its 75th anniversary season. Programmed works include: Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 1, Rebecca Clarke’s Passacaglia, Emilie Mayer’s Faust-Overture, and Amy Beach’s Symphony op. 32 “Gaelic.” The orchestra will perform at the Eastbourne Town Hall.
Below is a performance of Farrenc’s Overture No. 1, performed by the Ulster Orchestra in honor of International Women’s Day in 2022. The short pre-performance presentation is by Rosalie Curlett, cellist of the orchestra.
AND our friends at the Women Composers Festival of Hartford are celebrating their 25th season! The 2026 festival takes place March 27-28 and will be in-person at Central Connecticut State University, and streaming. This year’s Festival features Composer-in-Residence: Kari Cruver Medina and Ensemble-in-Residence Whistling Hens. The soprano and clarinet ensemble take their name from a 1918 remark in the New York Times New York Times in 1918: “women composers are at best whistling hens.”
While our focus at WPA is on highlighting orchestral work by women, a theatrical work about an historic woman composer can be of great interest since it will bring stories of the composer’s struggles and challenges to life before audiences. But with so much available documentation about this composer’s life, we hope this play is written with respect for historical reality: From March 26 – April 19, Off-Brand Opera will present Fanny, A Fantasy in G, a new play by Tim McGillicuddy. Performances from March 26 – April 12, 2026 will take place at the Gural Theatre at A.R.T./New York, and performances from April 14 – 19, 2026 will take place at the Liederkranz Club. The play begins in 1928 Berlin, where a young Fanny Mendelssohn dreams of becoming the first published female composer in modern Europe. She must navigate the social strife and complications of German society, her parents’ rigid expectations, having to work in the shadow of her famous brother, and the opportunistic men surrounding her eager to exploit her famous name and wealth.
THALIA ensemble
On March 27–29, THALIA (an ensemble of violin/violin/piano) will perform their program of rarely-heard pieces by female composers, including: 18th century composer Maddalena Lombardini Sirmen, 19th century composer Clara Schumann, 20th century composers Amy Beach and Grażyna Bacewicz and a composer active today, Jessie Montgomery. Ensemble members Sofia Hirsch (violin), Laura Markowitz (violin), and Mary Jane Austin (piano) are all members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. They will present their program three times at three different venues in Vermont, March 27, 28, and 29.
On March 19th the League of American Orchestras reported that the Australian Tenth Muse Initiative has found rising numbers of works by women composers being performed by Australian orchestras. The Australian Chamber Orchestra commissioned five works by women in 2024, and increased their commissions to 16 works by women in 2025—23.9 percent of its 2025 program were female-composed works, compared to 12.35 percent in 2024. This is a significant improvement, and reflects the ACO’s larger initiative of performing and commissioning living composers. 35.8 percent of the ACO’s program was written by living composers of any gender in 2025.
Unsuk Chin, composer
South Korean composer Unsuk Chin has been announced as the winner of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Music and Opera category of the award’s 18th edition. In the words of the committee, Chin has developed a distinctive musical voice distinguishable throughout the world of contemporary music. Her style achieves expressive depth through instrumental virtuosity and boundless imagination. “Chin is a masterful orchestrator, with an extensive catalogue that ranges from chamber music to orchestral and opera works,” said committee chair Gabriela Ortiz, Professor of Composition at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “She shows great concern for the technical crafting of her music, which is always impeccably written, displaying both consummate skill and a unique sonic imagination.”
Below is a recording of the North American premiere of Chin’s Operascope (2023), performed by the Esprit Orchestra and conducted by Alex Pauk. Recorded live at Koerner Hall, Toronto, January 24th, 2024.
Let us know what you’re listening to! Email us at info@wophil.org