Well, OK, it's not like I can do anything about keeping "them" out, but this portion of WOW/EM is specifically for young women.

There's all kinds of great information here--starting with a short article on Ada Lovelace, perhaps the first woman involved in technology (she also played the harp and loved opera!). Also you can find links to sites of women artists or women in technology.

What's it like to be a woman in a predominantly-male field? There are articles by women in all kinds of areas in music and art technology. You'll read the ups and downs--the way it was and the way it is.

So why should you join a professional women's music organization? Take a look at what Deon Nielson Price, a past president of the International Alliance for Women in Music, has to say.

And by the way, what's a Women's Studies Program anyway? Can you combine Women's Studies with the arts? What kinds of courses are offered? What does a Women's Center do? Can you take classes there? The answers to these questions and more are provided by Giavanna Munafo (Dartmouth College) in her two articles: Women's Studies Programs and Women's Centers.

So, read on!

 
• Probably the best place to start is with this reprint of an article by Pauline Oliveros from 1970. And Don't Call Them 'Lady' Composers was first printed in the New York Times, and Pauline Oliveros has graciously allowed us to reprint it as a part of WOW/EM. The article may be over 25 years old, but many of the issues are still very relevant. Additionally, there are links to current projects by Oliveros, including the Deep Listening Band.

   

• Here's a great new bibliography of women in music by Kristine H. Burns.

• Suzanne Moulton Gertig has a great article about Sophia Corri Dussek (1775-1847). This composer/performer lead a life more scandalous than even the soap operas could portray! Take a look at her article.

   

• Ever wonder what kinds of recordings are available by women composers? Well, take a look at Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner's discography...

   

• Did you know that the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the world's most prestigious performing organizations, did not allow women and minorities to audition until very recently? If you would like to read more about the process of change, go to the VPO Watch page at: http://www.buzzarte.org/vpowatch.

   

• Women in Music can now be heard on the Internet, via Audionet at http://www.audionet.com. Search AudioNet, for "women in music", and click the link to access some of the best women musicians around. Here are the basics: you'll need a 28.8 connection modem connection, as well as RealAudio 3.0, which you can downloaded for free http://www.realaudio.com. Questions? E-mail: WomenOnAir@aol.com, or check out their web site: http://members.aol.com/WomenOnAir/WomenInMusic.htm.

   

• Rose Bak co-produces a women's music show on KBOO Radio in Portland with Dennise Kowalczyk. The show, called "A Voice of Her Own" focuses on the words and music of women from around the world. It airs on KBOO Radio on Thursday evenings. Want to make contact with them? Here's their address:
  
  • Rose Bak & Dennise Kowalczyk
    "A Voice of Her Own", KBOO Radio
    20 SE 8th, Box 35-A
    Portland, OR 97215 or email: FREQCHICK@aol.com

• Also, if you're among the younger ones in the WOW'EM crowd, this may be for you. Woman Composers by Carol Plantamura, a coloring book by Bellerophon Books, 36 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

   

• Finally, there's a new book of keyboard music by historical women composers called: "At the Piano with Women Composers," edited by Maurice Hinson, Alfred Publishing Co. (16380 Roscoe Blvd. POB 10003 Van Nuys CA 91410-0003), 1995. It only costs $8.50, and it includes biographies and musical comments about the following women: Marianna von Auenbrugger, Agathe Backer-Groendahl, Amy Beach, Teresa Carreno, Cecile Chaminade, Louise Farrenc, Elisabetta de Gambarini, Fanny Hensel, Wanda Landowska, Marianne von Martinez, Adaline Shepherd, and Maria Szmanowska.

Other sources to check out:

• Art and Music Competitions

   

• Ada Lovelace, the Person and the Programming Language

   

• Women's Contemporary Visual Art and Music Organizations and Web Sites

   

• Historical Women Visual Artists and Composers

   

• Young Women's Web Sites

   

• Women's Issues

   

• Publishers of Women's Music

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Copyright September 1996,
updated February 2004.
Kristine H. Burns,
Florida International University
Questions? Contact me.