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If you look at the listings of the major orchestras in America you will see two things in common; very few of them are programming major pieces by women composers, and almost none have a woman on the podium. Despite the abundance of wonderful compositions by women, the world of classical music has been, for centuries, a man’s world.

Celebrating Women in Music - a Challenge accepted

Global Dimension

On International Women's Day (March 8th), WQXR, one of the largest classical radio stations in the U.S. presented a challenge to classical stations across the country.  To present a full day of classical music composed, conducted and performed by women and to make a conscious decision to increase the percentage of music being played by women over the next 12 months.

Classical 91.5 has been hosting such a celebration for many years, celebrating not only the women who create and perform the music, but also our three full time female announcers who bring this music to listeners every weekday.

Presenting music by women is something that we take very seriously here and it is part of our daily presentation throughout the year, not just during Women's History Month or on one special day.  Each year, Music Director Julia Figueras curates the works in our CD library to make sure we are presenting a variety of women composers past and present, as well as the growing number of female conductors and artists. And all of our hosts are regularly bringing female musicians to our attention to add their content to our library.
 

Credit WQXR
WQXR's Creative Director Clemency Burton-Hill

Classical 91.5 has made the commitment and we hope that you enjoy what you hear.  Together we strive to make the presentation of classical music represent the world in which we live.  WQXR's Creative Director Clemency Burton-Hill stated it this way: “What I would love is to never hear the phrase ‘woman composer’ ever again.

I'd love for us to just talk about composers, but we need to take the steps to get there by making a conscious decision to elevate accomplished composers who happen to be women.

When I think about the tragedy of Schubert and Mendelssohn and Mozart, who died in their 30s, and what kind of music they could’ve made if they lived longer, I also think about those hundreds of thousands more women who never got to put their ideas on paper — or those who did, but were written out of history. This is the beginning of our own movement.”

Read the full challenge from WQXR.