5/7/2023 0 Comments Rainy daze pitched![]() The Boulanger Initiative (BI from now on) intends to combat that all-too-common experience through a three-pronged approach: performance, education and research, and commissioning new works. She said, “… JoAnn Falletta conducted, and I remembered seeing her get on the podium and just being completely dumbfounded that a woman could conduct, and well… It had literally never occurred to me, it had never entered my brain that that was something I could do as a woman… I think a lot of females have that moment where you just go, ‘Oh really-I can-oh-OH, Okay!’ But by 8th grade, it’s already a little bit … We need to get that into girl’s heads when they’re still five.” Laura’s “aha” moment came when she was in 8th grade and attending the Tanglewood Institute. A later brainstorming session provided more than enough ideas to provide an agenda for the Initiative. ![]() At the time, both women were in the process of finishing their doctorates (Joy in organ, Laura in violin) and were writing their dissertations on women composers. The two met nearly accidentally, with a mutual friend introducing them when they both showed up at a restaurant. I had the opportunity to talk with co-founder Laura Colgate recently and discuss the Initiative’s plans, as well as what spurred the two women into action. Their stated mission is “to work towards greater inclusivity, and to enrich our collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be.” This positive message guides them towards imagining and helping to create a future more inclusive of women composers-past, present and future. The Boulanger Initiative was founded in June 2018 by two young musicians, Laura Colgate and Joy-Leilani Garbutt, who hit the ground running and have already made a substantial impact on raising the visibility of women composers. Well, it is Seydel playing Seydel! It's the minuet that serves as the final piece in volume one of Violin Music by Women, and here it is: In addition to standards like Massenet's Meditation from Thaïs and the like, is the modestly titled "Minuet", with no composer credited. On a whim, I thought I'd try to find Irma Seydel's death year- but instead I found a number of recordings she made in the early 20th century which are available online! They are part of the Discography of American Historical Recordings, "housed" at the University of California Santa Barbara. I've been doing some revising of some of the anthology volumes, correcting some wrong notes (it's endless), finding more information on a composer or two where it was sketchy, and sadly adding some death dates for a few who are no longer with us. So much has happened for women in music in these past few years! Though I'm starting here with a literal blast from the past, I will work to come up with some observations on the progress that's been made recently, and point you to some compositions you might like to know more about by contemporary musicians. ![]() ![]() In any case, I am now (recently) retired from my university job and hope to chime in more frequently as I find nuggets of interest. I could use Covid as an excuse, and maybe dealing with teaching in the pandemic did have an impact, but that doesn't explain 2019. I have been very derelict in writing blog posts. ![]()
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