“In the early days of my composing career, I often got the comment from audience members, ‘that doesn’t sound like a piece that a woman would write,” – Jennifer Higdon.
from interview on March 24, 2015. Full interview here.
Over the past few years an awakening and re-evaluation has taken place within the classical music field. An oversimplified view would be to say that, while artistic directors in the music business acknowledged the heavy reliance on male composers of European decent, they did little to make changes to the predominant paradigm. Yes, women composers, black composers, and composers from Central and South American heritage would occasionally find their way into the concert hall, but to the tune of less than 5% of musical programs across the country (in a good year). Now the pendulum has begun to swing in a big way within the framework of wider discussions on diversity and inclusion. This doesn’t just include the promotion of women and ethnically diverse emerging young talents, but also a look backwards and shifting through over a century of music to re-evaluate what has been unfairly overlooked due to conscience of unconscious discriminations. Our final program of the 2022 season taps into this current discussion, looking at five works by American women, not to specifically ask any question but simply to celebrate where we find ourselves as a community of artists and audiences.
Program
Libby Larsen (b. 1950) Four on the Floor (1983)
Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962) Autumn Music (1995)
Valerie Coleman (b. 1970) Three Spirituals
Florence Price (1887-1953) Piano Quintet in A Major (1936)
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939) Piano Quintet (2010)
Location: UNI Gallery of Art
Date: July 24, 2:00pm
Tickets: Coming Soon
Sponsor: CVCM would like to thank Talk To Me Technologies for their support of this performance.
