Composers Featured at our Celebration of Women in Music Event
Each of our tables at the event is identified not by a number but by a female composer! The City Choir of Washington is performing works by many of these composers in our 2022-2023 season; join us for future seasons and you may very well hear pieces by some of the others!
Please click on the image to learn more about each composer.
The City Choir of Washington connection:
Margaret Bonds: Suzanne Karpov will perform her “You can tell the world” this evening!
Lili Boulanger, Pie Jesu - performed by the City Choir of Washington with Robert Shafer, November 2021. Hymne au soleil - performed in March 2010 & Feb 2014 | Plus: stay tuned in 2024-2025!
Cécile Chaminade: Suzanne Karpov will perform her “L’ete” this evening!
Chen Yi, Jasmine Flower | Mayila - performed January 22, 2023
Reena Esmail: Stay tuned for City Choir’s 2023-2024 season announcement!
Elaine Hagenberg, Alleluia - performed January 22, 2023
Gilda Lyons, Love Is - on the City Choir of Washington’s June 4, 2023 program | Suzanne Karpov will perform her “Eve’s Lament” this evening!
Cecilia McDowall: Erin Freeman will be leading her Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo with Vox Anima London in March 2024.
Marianna Martines: Stay tuned for City Choir’s 2023-2024 season announcement!
Florence Price, Song for Snow - performed by the City Choir of Washington January 22, 2023 | Suzanne Karpov will perform her “Night” this evening!
Sharon Farber, Ashkina - March 26, 2023
Jessica Krash, Wade in the Water (commission by the City Choir of Washington) - June 4, 2023 (world premiere)
There are so many talented women composers, and we invite you to explore this rich topic further. Below are a few links to begin your journey:
Lists of women composers by time period/birth date, with biographical links
Articles and books about women composers
“12 Black Female Classical Composers You Need to Know,” [www.nateholdermusic.com, June 13, 2020]
“The Top 35 Women Composers in Classical Music (from 1900-2017),” Anne Midgette [The Washington Post, August 4, 2017]
“Top 19 Famous Female Composers,” Mary Rogelstad [www.blogs.jwpepper.com, May 22, 2018]
Sounds and Sweet Airs: The Forgotten Women of Classical Music, Anna Beer [Oneworld Publications, 2016; available in bookstores and on Amazon]
Playlists
“Essential Women Composers” [www.wqxr.org, March 25, 2019]: An in-depth playlist featuring many of the composers featured in the video, plus many more.
“1200 Years of Women Composers: a 78-hour Playlist that Takes You from Medieval Times to Now” [www.openculture.com, October 12, 2015]: A Spotify playlist “from Hildegard to Higdon.”
Local resources
The Boulanger Initiative: Inspired by Nadia and Lili Boulanger, two Washington, D.C.-based musicians, Laura Colgate and Joy-Leilani Garbutt, have established a foundation whose mission is to “promote music composed by women through performance, education, and commissions.”
A Moment of Music with the City Choir of Washington (March 2021) - Honoring Women’s History Month.