Women’s History Month 2023
Thank you to everyone for your attendance, attention, and interest in Women Rock: Women In Music. My goal was to provide you a small taste of the rich history of women in music so that you’d seek out more information, and I already know that I accomplished that with at least a couple of attendees!
Directly below this are three buttons: the first links to the Pellissippi State Women’s History Month webpage, the second links to the recording of my talk, and the third links to the YouTube playlist I used. Next I’ve listed the images, a few notes, and links to Wikipedia pages, recordings, interviews, or performances. Never stop learning!
— R.A. James, 11:45 PM Eastern, Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Kassia/Kassiani
Greece, c. 810 – before 865
Byzantine-Greek composer and poet, also wrote hymns
Only known woman whose music appears in the Byzantine worship practices
Line engraving by W. Marshall. CC BY 4.0 via Wellcome Collection.
Hildegard von bingen
Germany, 1098-1179
Nun and abbess (mother superior) of Rupertsberg
Wrote poetry and music; visionary and mystic
“To compose was as natural to me as to breathe…”
Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, 1887. By Walery (Stanislaw Julian Ostrorog (1830-90)) - Hawaii State Archives. Call Number: PPWD-16-4.014, Public Domain
Lili'uokalani
Hawaiian Kingdom, 1838-1917
Queen regnant from 1891-1893
Author and songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist
Performed Hawaiian and English sacred and secular music
By Julius Cornelius Schaarwächter, Public Domain
Teresa Carreño
Venezuela, 1853-1917
Child prodigy, 54-year concert career
Pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor
Known as the "Valkyrie/Lioness of the Piano”
University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections
Florence Price
United States, 1887-1953
Composer, pianist, organist and music teacher
First piano performance at age 4, first published composition at age 11
First African-American woman to have a composition performed by a major orchestra
Mario Wezel for The New York Times
Sofia Gubaidulina
Russia, born 1931
One of the foremost Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century
Elected as a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2005
Wendy and Pandy, in front of the Wurly II setup of five Kurzweil synthesizers (wendycarlos.com)
Wendy Carlos
United States, born 1939
Composer and electronic music pioneer
First transgender recipient of a Grammy Award
Her work Switched-On Bach was first classical album to go platinum in America
Unknown source, Google says image is from www.jenniebrownflute.com
Shulamit Ran
Israel (Israeli-American), born 1949
Composer and pianist
Second woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1991 (for her Symphony)
Has performed as a pianist in Israel, Europe and the US
Kuandi Photos
Chen Yi
China (Chinese-American), born 1953
Composer and violinist
First woman to receive a master’s degree in composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China
Has written numerous orchestral, choral, and chamber works, as well as works for solo instruments
Andrew Bogard/Jennifer Hidden/Lawdon Press
Jennifer Higdon
United States, born 1962
Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy-winner
First opera, Cold Mountain, won International Opera Award for Best World Premiere in 2016 (first American opera to win)
Cold Mountain shows influence of Higdon growing up in the Appalachian region of Tennessee
Time for Three: "Cadenza," from Jennifer Higdon's "Concerto 4-3"
Sources
This is a list of sources that I used for the talk. A special thank you to Professor Kelly Rivers for the invitation to do this and to my friend Taylor Anne for some last-minute inspiration!