Musical Herstory

Musical Herstory was a free online course offered through the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in the Fall of 2020. I had the privilege of researching and teaching this course. Take a look around to see what we talked about it, and let it inspire your own research

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Women have been writing and performing music for as long as men have; so how come we don't know about very many women composers? In this six-week online class, we will explore the socio-historical reasons behind the absense of women from textbooks while exploring their music and their lives.

In the Press

Musical Herstory: Saskatoon composer shines a light on women in music
Radio interview with Peter Mills on CBC. Aired September 19, 2020

This 6-week online course will teach you all about women composers
CBC Music | September 16, 2020

Course Outline

Week One – History of Feminist Musicology
Composers in focus – Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and Marianna Martines
Youtube Playlist

Week Two – The Education and Socialization of Women
Composers in focus – Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann
Youtube Playlist

Week Three – The Suffrage Movement and Difficulties of Being a Female Musician or Musician of Colour in the 20thCentury
Composers in focus – Dame Ethel Smyth and Florence Beatrice Price
Youtube Playlist

Week Four – Living Composers – The Advancement of Music Technology and the Avant-Garde
Composers in focus – Kaija Saariaho and Sofia Gubaidulina
Youtube Playlist

Week Five – Living Composers – Composers in the Neighbourhood
Canadian composers in focus – Alexina Louie and Cris Derksen
Youtube Playlist

Week Six – Living Composers – Music as a Living and Interacting Entity. Plus – what else do composers do besides write music?
Composers in focus – Kaley Lane Eaton and Niloufar Nourbakhsh
Youtube Playlist

​Want to know more? A list of resources I used for the class can be found here