1 Recap
You will start this week by refreshing your memory on all the key learnings about diversifying programming which you have covered so far.
Activity 1
Part 1
Thinking back to what you learned in Week 1, consider the following questions:
- What were the historical barriers which led to women’s music not being included within the classical music repertoire as much as men’s?
- What can some of the challenges to performing more works by women composers be?
Discussion
- Women composers were excluded from the classical music canon which formed during the nineteenth century. Because their works weren’t included within the canon, they were left out of how the story of music history was told and their works weren’t included within music education or training programmes.
- Historically, less music by women than by men has been published. This can make it challenging to access scores of their works. Sometimes performers/organisations can be reluctant to programme works by women composers, as they are nervous that audiences will be unfamiliar with their works and that this will affect ticket sales.
Part 2
Thinking back to Week 2, answer the following questions:
- What are some different approaches that you could take to programming women’s music?
- What are some of the issues which it’s important to bear in mind when including women’s music?
- What are some of the practical considerations which you need to think about when programming more music by women?
Discussion
- You could curate an all-woman programme or alternatively you could add pieces by women into a mixed programme, which might be themed by historical music period or musical genre, etc.
- When including works by women on programmes, it’s important to think about timing and placement and to avoid your inclusion looking tokenistic.
- When programming more music by women, it’s important to consider funding, audience engagement, and how you will get performers on board.
Part 3
Thinking back to Week 3, what are some of the benefits of making a performance edition of a previously unpublished work by a historic woman composer?
Discussion
Some of the benefits of making a performance edition of a previously unpublished work by a historic woman composer are that it will make it easier for you to read and play the piece yourself. If you choose to make your new performance edition available to others, you will also be increasing the amount of music by women which is easily available to be performed.
Part 4
Thinking back to Week 4, what are some of the different ways of working with contemporary women composers/music-creators?
Discussion
You could programme pre-existing works. If you have the necessary resources, you could also commission a new work, engage a woman composer/music-creator as an artist in residence, or work with them on a special project (which might include local community groups or education providers).