This page is the internet resource page for two choral conference presentations:
Programming in the 21st Century: Trends and Tools to Improve Gender Balance on Today’s Choral Programs, ACDA National Conference (March 2021) by Helena von Rueden, Elaine Bennington, and Rob Deemer
Internet Hacks for Finding New and Unique Choral Music by Women (cancelled due to COVID-19), 2020 ACDA Southern Regional Conference by Dr. Helena von Rueden
This site began as a resource for music by women. “Gender balance” on choral music programs should also take into account music by nonbinary composers.
Online Databases and Search Tools that filter by gender:
- Institute of Composer Diversity’s Choral Diversity Database: currently searchable by gender identity of composer, voicing, difficulty level, language, duration, and provides audio and publisher or score links
- Orange County Women’s Chorus Women Composers Database: sortable by voicing, difficulty, nationality, timing, dates of composer and other criteria
- Major Choral Works by Women Composers, sortable list compiled by Dr. Jami Lercher (re-posted with permission)
- Musica International: accessible for free with ACDA membership: click ACDA Repertoire page, scroll down to Musical International; sortable by voicing, difficulty, nationality, timing, dates of composer and other criteria
Music Publishers that filter by gender of composer:
- Santa Barbara Music Publishing: filter by choosing “Woman Composer” from “Classifications” search criteria
- Hildegard Publishing Company: features all women composers
- Canadian Music Centre: search by male, female, or genderqueer using “Advanced Search” within “Composers”
- Australian Music Centre: select “Find Music,” then “Browse Composers” to search by male, female, or nonbinary composers
- Furore: catalog section on women composers
- The Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland: search by male/female by selecting “Composers”
- Sounds Centre for New Zealand Music: enter “women” in the search bar to filter for women
- Selah Publishing Sarah Macdonald Sacred Music Series: series of sacred (Christian) works by women
Social Media and Online Organizations:
Note: these sites are not just about choral music, but all kinds. Many provide great information on lesser known women composers (nonbinary information coming soon), commissioning opportunities, composition contests, and discussion opportunities
Online Organizations (also on Twitter and Facebook):
- Boulanger Initiative: promoting the work and performance of women composers
- National Concert Listing: post your events featuring women composers!
- Facebook / Twitter
- Illuminate Women’s Music: promoting the work and performance of women composers
- Women Composers Festival of Hartford: choral and non-choral active composers
- Cecilia’s List: promotes church music by women
- Music Theory Examples by Women: great for theory classes and general knowledge about women composers of different time periods (they also sell cool posters!)
hashtags:
These hashtags are often used in tagging music by women on Twitter. Scroll through the feeds for information on specific composers, events, and general information about women composing music. (more coming soon on nonbinary composers)
- #Hearallcomposers
- #Womencomposers
- #femalecomposers
- #womeninmusic
- #DonneWomenInMusic
- #Compositoras
- #WomeninClassicalMusic
- #NewMusicGathering
Composer Websites
Individual composer’s personal or commercial websites can be excellent ways to find repertoire. It can be time consuming to visit a lot of individual sites looking for music that would work for your choir’s needs, but once you identify some that compose choral music, composers are often very amenable to personal contact for recommendations as well as providing score samples. Try sending an email request with the requirements of your ensemble, and see what you hear back. Contact between composer and ensemble is also a great learning experience for any choir! For lists of women composers who write for chorus, try the following sites:
- Orange County Women’s Chorus Women Composers Database: sortable by voicing, difficulty, nationality, timing, dates of composer and other criteria
- Major Choral Works by Women Composers, sortable list compiled by Dr. Jami Lercher (re-posted with permission)
Contact
Dr. Helena von Rueden, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Program, Hampden-Sydney College; Assistant Director and Co-Coordinator of Choral Database, Institute for Composer Diversity
Elaine Bennington, Performing Arts Educator, Clarendon Hills Middle School; Co-Coordinator of Choral Database, Institute for Composer Diversity
Rob Deemer, Professor of Music Composition, State University of New York at Fredonia; Director of Institute for Composer Diversity
For questions regarding the ICD choral database, email choral@composerdiversity.com
Tools to Improve Gender Balance on Today’s Choral Programs 