Festival celebrates female composers
he Eastman School kicks off its first Women in Music Festival on March 21 with a series of noontime concerts that celebrate both prominent and emerging female composers. Eastman students and faculty will perform from noon to 1 p.m. through March 25 in the Main Hall or in the Atrium of Miller Center (27 Gibbs St., formerly Eastman Place). All concerts are free and open to the public.
"This new festival is a celebration of women involved in all aspects of music, including composition, performance, and scholarship," says Sylvie Beaudette, assistant professor of chamber music at Eastman who is coordinating the festival with Eastman graduate student and pianist Sophia Ahmad. "There is an amazing body of musical works by women that is rarely performed or talked about. Our goal is to showcase some of these."
Works by such noted composers as Clara Schumann, Joan Tower, Amy Beach, and Libby Larsen will be performed during the festival, as will the work of Roxanna Panufnik the festival's featured composer whose compositions include opera, ballet, music theatre, choral works, chamber music, and music for film and television that has been performed all over the world. In addition, new music from female student composers at Eastman will be highlighted.
Each daily concert is built around a specific theme, featuring a collection of mostly short usical works pformed by Eastman students, ensembles, and faculty. Each selection will be introduced by the reading of a female poet's work. In addition to Beaudette, the festival involves faculty artists Tony Caramia (piano), Christel Thielman (viola de gamba), Susan Conkling (leading the Eastman Women's Choir), and Ruth Cahn (conducting the Eastman Percussion Ensemble, which provides the opening performance of the festival).
Details about the schedule and performers are available online at www.rochester.edu/Eastman/wmf.
In addition, the Sibley Music Library will host a special exhibition during the festival that highlights achievements of women in music. It will include archival documents from its Ruth T. Watanabe Special Collections.
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