#WhoWerePlaying

I had an odd moment a while prepping for our Spring Concert. For the first time since playing Anne McGinty's Red Balloon several years ago, I used female pronouns in reference to the composer of a piece we're working on (Julie Giroux's March of the Sun-Dried Tomatoes was a blast, by the way!). I pointed out that odd feeling to my students, and they were even more surprised because in their time of being members of our band, they'd never played a piece written by a woman.

That's on me.

Big time.

It shouldn't seem out of the ordinary to play instrumental music written by a female composer. It should be a norm. I'm sure the argument about "good music for the sake of good music" will come up. And this is not meant in any way to discount music written by men. I've played plenty of outstanding compositions on both sides of the baton written by men and will continue to do so.

However, for a long time, only men were allowed to write and publish music. Which in turn inspired more male composers. Which has perpetuated a cycle of undoubtedly excellent male composers, and very little else.

What about the girls who now can write and publish their own music? How often do they see someone who inspires them to pursue that passion? How many creative voices are silenced before they even get the chance to start because they don't relate to the people writing the music they play?

We're 50% of the population, but look at the spring band concert programs being shared this time of year (mine included!) and check the percentage of female composers listed.

Just as important is doing a better job for my students of color. They deserve to see and hear music written by people who look like them. The cyclical pattern is just as prevalent there. I have no doubt that we've missed out on countless musical experiences based only on the fact that the people who might have created them didn't have the "right" skin color, ethnicity, religion, etc.

And so rather than getting and staying frustrated, I'm going to do something about it. Thanks to suggestions from friends and this list on Jodie Blackshaw's site, I've found a large number of pieces written by great variety of female composers that are accessible for my middle school students. I hope to have each ensemble play a piece by a female composer for each concert next year. Admittedly, I gained a head start on this list thanks to a district grant to update our middle school band libraries, but some purchases will still need to be made.

I need some help though! I'd like to do the same for composers of color, but have not found as centralized a listing as the one for female band composers. I'm looking for some Grade 1-3 title suggestions that we can add to our library. Please share ideas, leads, recommendations!!!

Next year we will have a "Who We're Playing" display outside the band room with a picture of each composer, the title of the piece, and a QR linking to the composer's site or bio. Even without an extensive discussion on the background of each the composers, students will be able to see and learn about who wrote the music we're playing.

I'd like others to join us as well! Share what your students are working on with the #WhoWerePlaying tag next year (don't worry, I'll repost but I know people need time to start looking for music).

Representation matters. Let's change the implied messages our students are getting about who does and does not or who can and can not write music. Not because that music isn't worth playing, but because all of our students deserve ensemble experiences where their creative voice feels valued too.

addendum:

Here are composers added to our library this last year as part of a grant from The Rochester Community Schools Foundation:

• Julie Giroux
• Jodie Blackshaw
• Quincy Hilliard
• William Owens
• Carol Brittin-Chambers
• Sarah Smith
• Yukiko Nishimura

Here's a really useful listing of pieces by women and minority composers shared with me after posting this blog in various places.

Another great resource list for female and minority composers!

Also, The Composer Diversity Project launched in June 2018! It is an AMAZING resource!