Teresa Carre\u00f1o (1853-1917)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nKnown as the \u201cvalkyrie of the piano,\u201d Teresa Carre\u00f1o was a Venezuelan concert pianist, singer, and composer. Born in Caracas, Carre\u00f1o and her family moved to New York when the musician was still a child in response to growing political instability. Spending time in both New York and Paris during her upbringing, Carre\u00f1o was able to pursue an international musical career. She became one of the first female pianists to tour the United States, quickly becoming a role model for subsequent generations of American woman musicians. As a composer, Carre\u00f1o wrote around 80 works, many of which were for the piano and performed herself in concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In 1863, when Carre\u00f1o was still a child, she performed for Abraham Lincoln at the White House. Decades later, in 1916, she returned to the White House to perform for Woodrow Wilson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Teresa_Carreno.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nFernande Decruck (1896-1954)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nFrench composer and organist Fernande Decruck made her gift for music known early on in life. Having won several prestigious accolades by her teens, Decruck entered the Paris Conservatory, where she excelled in composition and piano studies. As she began to make her mark as a working professional, Decruck spent a period of time touring throughout the United States, giving impressive concerts on the organ where she would improvise for the audience. This period in the U.S. also proved fruitful for composing, resulting in many new works for piano and organ, as well as her first works for saxophone\u2014Decruck\u2019s husband, Maurice, played the instrument and successfully earned a position playing with the New York Philharmonic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After returning to France, Decruck continued to devote her life to music: composing, performing, and teaching. Despite her successful career, her legacy fell into obscurity following her death and has only recently begun gaining attention once more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Black](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/FernandeDecruck-495x495.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz was a Polish-Lithuanian violinist, pianist, and composer who created a unique path for herself (at least for a woman at the time) by pursuing performance and composition on relatively equal terms. Having studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Bacewicz would go on to premiere many of her own works in concert. The bulk of her catalog consisted of chamber music works, particularly music written for strings. She became well-known and appreciated in her native Poland but had a harder time breaking down barriers on the international stage. Unfortunately, for the last 15 years of her life, Bacewicz was forced to retire from performing and focus exclusively on composition because of injuries suffered from a car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In addition to writing music, Bacewicz also wrote novels and short stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"black](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Grazyna_bacewicz.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nJoan Tower (b. 1938)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nTrailblazing American composer Joan Tower\u2019s career has spanned more than sixty years, making a significant mark on the world of classical music in the States and beyond. When asked about her musical voice, Tower has responded, \u201cMy music is about rhythm, predominantly, the rhythm of ideas. And it’s also organic, and it has a large-scale narrative\u2026 It’s also very important for me to be clear: I don’t think my music ever gets complicated enough that you don’t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, Tower was chosen as \u201cComposer of the Year\u201d by Musical America, and in 2019, the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. She currently serves as the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. All Classical Radio listeners likely know Tower best for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman<\/em>, which is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n![\"Joan](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/JoanTower-495x495.jpg\")
Image source: Boston Symphony Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Yagling (1946-2011)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn into a family of artists and intellectuals, Victoria Yagling was a Russian cellist and composer who made a name for herself as a major force in the USSR. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until 1990 to break beyond her native barriers when she was able to emigrate to Finland. While continuing to compose, Yagling also taught cello at the Jean Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Unsurprisingly, her works for the string instrument have become the most prominent part of Yagling\u2019s compositional legacy. Stylistically, her music embodies a Romantic essence unmistakably born out of the influence of her fellow Russian predecessors, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Black](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Victoria-Yagling-494x495.jpg\")
Image source: The Cello Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen (b. 1958)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen CBE is a Belize-born British composer who recently became the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King\u2019s Music, an honor that endorses her exceptional musical contributions. Wallen\u2019s works have also been performed at the BBC Proms, the 2012 Paralympic Games, and the late Queen\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. As an emerging composer in the 1980s, Wallen struggled with breaking down barriers for women in the field, especially women of color. Consequently, she co-founded, along with other female composers, musicians, and administrators, the organization Women in Music, promoting works by underrepresented voices in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a composer, Wallen has written over 20 operas in addition to a large catalog of works for orchestra and chamber ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ErrollynWallen-495x495.jpg\")
Photo by Azzurra Primavera; Image source: The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nReena Esmail (b. 1983)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBased in Los Angeles, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail connects the worlds of Indian and Western classical soundscapes in her music. With a focus on works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and choir, Esmail uses her music to address humanity in art and create a sense of belonging and inclusivity among its listeners. After earning degrees from both The Julliard School and Yale School of Music, she subsequently sought a return to her cultural roots and attained a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale\u2019s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence. She also currently serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, an organization that fosters cross-cultural dialogue between Western music and the music of India. In 2022, Esmail\u2019s life and career were featured on an episode of the PBS Great Performances series, \u201cNow Hear This.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Reena](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ReenaEsmail-496x495.jpg\")
Image source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette is an American composer, pianist, and singer-songwriter whose music is influenced not only by her classical education but also by her study of jazz, folk songs, soul, pop, and gospel. As a singer, Naomi attributes songwriting in her early 20s as a way to process strong emotions and experiences. With four albums of original music under her belt and many more singles, Naomi writes songs filled \u201cwith the stories, emotions, celebrations, and struggles of what it means to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LaViolette is based in Portland, OR, and has collaborated with several local organizations. Since 2004, she has been the pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, in addition to working with the Oregon Symphony as a songwriter and arranger for The Lullaby Project. Her work with Saving His Music, a project preserving the music of a talented pianist suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, received prominent coverage both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/acp-website.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NaomiLaViolette-495x495.jpg\")
Image source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nKeep Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of women composers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2024 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2023 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda\u2019s Five \u201cMust Hear\u201d Women Composers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At All Classical Radio, women composers have long been an essential part of our daily playlist. We\u2019re proud to shine a spotlight on underrepresented composers, both living and passed, and introduce listeners to the wealth of music written by them. In celebration of Women\u2019s History Month 2025, we\u2019re exploring the lives and careers of eight … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":103620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:07:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103658,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions\/103658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Known as the \u201cvalkyrie of the piano,\u201d Teresa Carre\u00f1o was a Venezuelan concert pianist, singer, and composer. Born in Caracas, Carre\u00f1o and her family moved to New York when the musician was still a child in response to growing political instability. Spending time in both New York and Paris during her upbringing, Carre\u00f1o was able to pursue an international musical career. She became one of the first female pianists to tour the United States, quickly becoming a role model for subsequent generations of American woman musicians. As a composer, Carre\u00f1o wrote around 80 works, many of which were for the piano and performed herself in concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In 1863, when Carre\u00f1o was still a child, she performed for Abraham Lincoln at the White House. Decades later, in 1916, she returned to the White House to perform for Woodrow Wilson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nFernande Decruck (1896-1954)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nFrench composer and organist Fernande Decruck made her gift for music known early on in life. Having won several prestigious accolades by her teens, Decruck entered the Paris Conservatory, where she excelled in composition and piano studies. As she began to make her mark as a working professional, Decruck spent a period of time touring throughout the United States, giving impressive concerts on the organ where she would improvise for the audience. This period in the U.S. also proved fruitful for composing, resulting in many new works for piano and organ, as well as her first works for saxophone\u2014Decruck\u2019s husband, Maurice, played the instrument and successfully earned a position playing with the New York Philharmonic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After returning to France, Decruck continued to devote her life to music: composing, performing, and teaching. Despite her successful career, her legacy fell into obscurity following her death and has only recently begun gaining attention once more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz was a Polish-Lithuanian violinist, pianist, and composer who created a unique path for herself (at least for a woman at the time) by pursuing performance and composition on relatively equal terms. Having studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Bacewicz would go on to premiere many of her own works in concert. The bulk of her catalog consisted of chamber music works, particularly music written for strings. She became well-known and appreciated in her native Poland but had a harder time breaking down barriers on the international stage. Unfortunately, for the last 15 years of her life, Bacewicz was forced to retire from performing and focus exclusively on composition because of injuries suffered from a car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In addition to writing music, Bacewicz also wrote novels and short stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nJoan Tower (b. 1938)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nTrailblazing American composer Joan Tower\u2019s career has spanned more than sixty years, making a significant mark on the world of classical music in the States and beyond. When asked about her musical voice, Tower has responded, \u201cMy music is about rhythm, predominantly, the rhythm of ideas. And it’s also organic, and it has a large-scale narrative\u2026 It’s also very important for me to be clear: I don’t think my music ever gets complicated enough that you don’t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, Tower was chosen as \u201cComposer of the Year\u201d by Musical America, and in 2019, the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. She currently serves as the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. All Classical Radio listeners likely know Tower best for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman<\/em>, which is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nImage source: Boston Symphony Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Yagling (1946-2011)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn into a family of artists and intellectuals, Victoria Yagling was a Russian cellist and composer who made a name for herself as a major force in the USSR. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until 1990 to break beyond her native barriers when she was able to emigrate to Finland. While continuing to compose, Yagling also taught cello at the Jean Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Unsurprisingly, her works for the string instrument have become the most prominent part of Yagling\u2019s compositional legacy. Stylistically, her music embodies a Romantic essence unmistakably born out of the influence of her fellow Russian predecessors, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: The Cello Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen (b. 1958)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen CBE is a Belize-born British composer who recently became the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King\u2019s Music, an honor that endorses her exceptional musical contributions. Wallen\u2019s works have also been performed at the BBC Proms, the 2012 Paralympic Games, and the late Queen\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. As an emerging composer in the 1980s, Wallen struggled with breaking down barriers for women in the field, especially women of color. Consequently, she co-founded, along with other female composers, musicians, and administrators, the organization Women in Music, promoting works by underrepresented voices in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a composer, Wallen has written over 20 operas in addition to a large catalog of works for orchestra and chamber ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nPhoto by Azzurra Primavera; Image source: The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nReena Esmail (b. 1983)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBased in Los Angeles, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail connects the worlds of Indian and Western classical soundscapes in her music. With a focus on works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and choir, Esmail uses her music to address humanity in art and create a sense of belonging and inclusivity among its listeners. After earning degrees from both The Julliard School and Yale School of Music, she subsequently sought a return to her cultural roots and attained a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale\u2019s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence. She also currently serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, an organization that fosters cross-cultural dialogue between Western music and the music of India. In 2022, Esmail\u2019s life and career were featured on an episode of the PBS Great Performances series, \u201cNow Hear This.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette is an American composer, pianist, and singer-songwriter whose music is influenced not only by her classical education but also by her study of jazz, folk songs, soul, pop, and gospel. As a singer, Naomi attributes songwriting in her early 20s as a way to process strong emotions and experiences. With four albums of original music under her belt and many more singles, Naomi writes songs filled \u201cwith the stories, emotions, celebrations, and struggles of what it means to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LaViolette is based in Portland, OR, and has collaborated with several local organizations. Since 2004, she has been the pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, in addition to working with the Oregon Symphony as a songwriter and arranger for The Lullaby Project. Her work with Saving His Music, a project preserving the music of a talented pianist suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, received prominent coverage both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nKeep Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of women composers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2024 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2023 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda\u2019s Five \u201cMust Hear\u201d Women Composers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At All Classical Radio, women composers have long been an essential part of our daily playlist. We\u2019re proud to shine a spotlight on underrepresented composers, both living and passed, and introduce listeners to the wealth of music written by them. In celebration of Women\u2019s History Month 2025, we\u2019re exploring the lives and careers of eight … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":103620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:07:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103658,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions\/103658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
French composer and organist Fernande Decruck made her gift for music known early on in life. Having won several prestigious accolades by her teens, Decruck entered the Paris Conservatory, where she excelled in composition and piano studies. As she began to make her mark as a working professional, Decruck spent a period of time touring throughout the United States, giving impressive concerts on the organ where she would improvise for the audience. This period in the U.S. also proved fruitful for composing, resulting in many new works for piano and organ, as well as her first works for saxophone\u2014Decruck\u2019s husband, Maurice, played the instrument and successfully earned a position playing with the New York Philharmonic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After returning to France, Decruck continued to devote her life to music: composing, performing, and teaching. Despite her successful career, her legacy fell into obscurity following her death and has only recently begun gaining attention once more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nGra\u017cyna Bacewicz was a Polish-Lithuanian violinist, pianist, and composer who created a unique path for herself (at least for a woman at the time) by pursuing performance and composition on relatively equal terms. Having studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Bacewicz would go on to premiere many of her own works in concert. The bulk of her catalog consisted of chamber music works, particularly music written for strings. She became well-known and appreciated in her native Poland but had a harder time breaking down barriers on the international stage. Unfortunately, for the last 15 years of her life, Bacewicz was forced to retire from performing and focus exclusively on composition because of injuries suffered from a car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In addition to writing music, Bacewicz also wrote novels and short stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nJoan Tower (b. 1938)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nTrailblazing American composer Joan Tower\u2019s career has spanned more than sixty years, making a significant mark on the world of classical music in the States and beyond. When asked about her musical voice, Tower has responded, \u201cMy music is about rhythm, predominantly, the rhythm of ideas. And it’s also organic, and it has a large-scale narrative\u2026 It’s also very important for me to be clear: I don’t think my music ever gets complicated enough that you don’t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, Tower was chosen as \u201cComposer of the Year\u201d by Musical America, and in 2019, the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. She currently serves as the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. All Classical Radio listeners likely know Tower best for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman<\/em>, which is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nImage source: Boston Symphony Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Yagling (1946-2011)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn into a family of artists and intellectuals, Victoria Yagling was a Russian cellist and composer who made a name for herself as a major force in the USSR. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until 1990 to break beyond her native barriers when she was able to emigrate to Finland. While continuing to compose, Yagling also taught cello at the Jean Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Unsurprisingly, her works for the string instrument have become the most prominent part of Yagling\u2019s compositional legacy. Stylistically, her music embodies a Romantic essence unmistakably born out of the influence of her fellow Russian predecessors, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: The Cello Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen (b. 1958)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen CBE is a Belize-born British composer who recently became the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King\u2019s Music, an honor that endorses her exceptional musical contributions. Wallen\u2019s works have also been performed at the BBC Proms, the 2012 Paralympic Games, and the late Queen\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. As an emerging composer in the 1980s, Wallen struggled with breaking down barriers for women in the field, especially women of color. Consequently, she co-founded, along with other female composers, musicians, and administrators, the organization Women in Music, promoting works by underrepresented voices in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a composer, Wallen has written over 20 operas in addition to a large catalog of works for orchestra and chamber ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nPhoto by Azzurra Primavera; Image source: The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nReena Esmail (b. 1983)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBased in Los Angeles, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail connects the worlds of Indian and Western classical soundscapes in her music. With a focus on works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and choir, Esmail uses her music to address humanity in art and create a sense of belonging and inclusivity among its listeners. After earning degrees from both The Julliard School and Yale School of Music, she subsequently sought a return to her cultural roots and attained a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale\u2019s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence. She also currently serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, an organization that fosters cross-cultural dialogue between Western music and the music of India. In 2022, Esmail\u2019s life and career were featured on an episode of the PBS Great Performances series, \u201cNow Hear This.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette is an American composer, pianist, and singer-songwriter whose music is influenced not only by her classical education but also by her study of jazz, folk songs, soul, pop, and gospel. As a singer, Naomi attributes songwriting in her early 20s as a way to process strong emotions and experiences. With four albums of original music under her belt and many more singles, Naomi writes songs filled \u201cwith the stories, emotions, celebrations, and struggles of what it means to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LaViolette is based in Portland, OR, and has collaborated with several local organizations. Since 2004, she has been the pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, in addition to working with the Oregon Symphony as a songwriter and arranger for The Lullaby Project. Her work with Saving His Music, a project preserving the music of a talented pianist suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, received prominent coverage both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nKeep Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of women composers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2024 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2023 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda\u2019s Five \u201cMust Hear\u201d Women Composers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At All Classical Radio, women composers have long been an essential part of our daily playlist. We\u2019re proud to shine a spotlight on underrepresented composers, both living and passed, and introduce listeners to the wealth of music written by them. In celebration of Women\u2019s History Month 2025, we\u2019re exploring the lives and careers of eight … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":103620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:07:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103658,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions\/103658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Gra\u017cyna Bacewicz was a Polish-Lithuanian violinist, pianist, and composer who created a unique path for herself (at least for a woman at the time) by pursuing performance and composition on relatively equal terms. Having studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, Bacewicz would go on to premiere many of her own works in concert. The bulk of her catalog consisted of chamber music works, particularly music written for strings. She became well-known and appreciated in her native Poland but had a harder time breaking down barriers on the international stage. Unfortunately, for the last 15 years of her life, Bacewicz was forced to retire from performing and focus exclusively on composition because of injuries suffered from a car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fun fact: In addition to writing music, Bacewicz also wrote novels and short stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nJoan Tower (b. 1938)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nTrailblazing American composer Joan Tower\u2019s career has spanned more than sixty years, making a significant mark on the world of classical music in the States and beyond. When asked about her musical voice, Tower has responded, \u201cMy music is about rhythm, predominantly, the rhythm of ideas. And it’s also organic, and it has a large-scale narrative\u2026 It’s also very important for me to be clear: I don’t think my music ever gets complicated enough that you don’t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, Tower was chosen as \u201cComposer of the Year\u201d by Musical America, and in 2019, the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. She currently serves as the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. All Classical Radio listeners likely know Tower best for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman<\/em>, which is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nImage source: Boston Symphony Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nVictoria Yagling (1946-2011)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn into a family of artists and intellectuals, Victoria Yagling was a Russian cellist and composer who made a name for herself as a major force in the USSR. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until 1990 to break beyond her native barriers when she was able to emigrate to Finland. While continuing to compose, Yagling also taught cello at the Jean Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Unsurprisingly, her works for the string instrument have become the most prominent part of Yagling\u2019s compositional legacy. Stylistically, her music embodies a Romantic essence unmistakably born out of the influence of her fellow Russian predecessors, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: The Cello Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen (b. 1958)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nErrollyn Wallen CBE is a Belize-born British composer who recently became the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King\u2019s Music, an honor that endorses her exceptional musical contributions. Wallen\u2019s works have also been performed at the BBC Proms, the 2012 Paralympic Games, and the late Queen\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. As an emerging composer in the 1980s, Wallen struggled with breaking down barriers for women in the field, especially women of color. Consequently, she co-founded, along with other female composers, musicians, and administrators, the organization Women in Music, promoting works by underrepresented voices in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a composer, Wallen has written over 20 operas in addition to a large catalog of works for orchestra and chamber ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nPhoto by Azzurra Primavera; Image source: The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nReena Esmail (b. 1983)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nBased in Los Angeles, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail connects the worlds of Indian and Western classical soundscapes in her music. With a focus on works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and choir, Esmail uses her music to address humanity in art and create a sense of belonging and inclusivity among its listeners. After earning degrees from both The Julliard School and Yale School of Music, she subsequently sought a return to her cultural roots and attained a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale\u2019s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence. She also currently serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, an organization that fosters cross-cultural dialogue between Western music and the music of India. In 2022, Esmail\u2019s life and career were featured on an episode of the PBS Great Performances series, \u201cNow Hear This.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nNaomi LaViolette is an American composer, pianist, and singer-songwriter whose music is influenced not only by her classical education but also by her study of jazz, folk songs, soul, pop, and gospel. As a singer, Naomi attributes songwriting in her early 20s as a way to process strong emotions and experiences. With four albums of original music under her belt and many more singles, Naomi writes songs filled \u201cwith the stories, emotions, celebrations, and struggles of what it means to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LaViolette is based in Portland, OR, and has collaborated with several local organizations. Since 2004, she has been the pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, in addition to working with the Oregon Symphony as a songwriter and arranger for The Lullaby Project. Her work with Saving His Music, a project preserving the music of a talented pianist suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, received prominent coverage both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\nImage source: Composer\u2019s website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nKeep Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of women composers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2024 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Women We Love to Play On Air: 2023 Edition<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mar\u00eda Garc\u00eda\u2019s Five \u201cMust Hear\u201d Women Composers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At All Classical Radio, women composers have long been an essential part of our daily playlist. We\u2019re proud to shine a spotlight on underrepresented composers, both living and passed, and introduce listeners to the wealth of music written by them. In celebration of Women\u2019s History Month 2025, we\u2019re exploring the lives and careers of eight … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":103620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:07:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103658,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions\/103658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Trailblazing American composer Joan Tower\u2019s career has spanned more than sixty years, making a significant mark on the world of classical music in the States and beyond. When asked about her musical voice, Tower has responded, \u201cMy music is about rhythm, predominantly, the rhythm of ideas. And it’s also organic, and it has a large-scale narrative\u2026 It’s also very important for me to be clear: I don’t think my music ever gets complicated enough that you don’t hear everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, Tower was chosen as \u201cComposer of the Year\u201d by Musical America, and in 2019, the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. She currently serves as the Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. All Classical Radio listeners likely know Tower best for Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman<\/em>, which is dedicated to women who take risks and who are adventurous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Born into a family of artists and intellectuals, Victoria Yagling was a Russian cellist and composer who made a name for herself as a major force in the USSR. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until 1990 to break beyond her native barriers when she was able to emigrate to Finland. While continuing to compose, Yagling also taught cello at the Jean Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Unsurprisingly, her works for the string instrument have become the most prominent part of Yagling\u2019s compositional legacy. Stylistically, her music embodies a Romantic essence unmistakably born out of the influence of her fellow Russian predecessors, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Errollyn Wallen CBE is a Belize-born British composer who recently became the first Black woman to be appointed Master of the King\u2019s Music, an honor that endorses her exceptional musical contributions. Wallen\u2019s works have also been performed at the BBC Proms, the 2012 Paralympic Games, and the late Queen\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. As an emerging composer in the 1980s, Wallen struggled with breaking down barriers for women in the field, especially women of color. Consequently, she co-founded, along with other female composers, musicians, and administrators, the organization Women in Music, promoting works by underrepresented voices in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a composer, Wallen has written over 20 operas in addition to a large catalog of works for orchestra and chamber ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Based in Los Angeles, Indian-American composer Reena Esmail connects the worlds of Indian and Western classical soundscapes in her music. With a focus on works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and choir, Esmail uses her music to address humanity in art and create a sense of belonging and inclusivity among its listeners. After earning degrees from both The Julliard School and Yale School of Music, she subsequently sought a return to her cultural roots and attained a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale\u2019s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence. She also currently serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, an organization that fosters cross-cultural dialogue between Western music and the music of India. In 2022, Esmail\u2019s life and career were featured on an episode of the PBS Great Performances series, \u201cNow Hear This.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Naomi LaViolette is an American composer, pianist, and singer-songwriter whose music is influenced not only by her classical education but also by her study of jazz, folk songs, soul, pop, and gospel. As a singer, Naomi attributes songwriting in her early 20s as a way to process strong emotions and experiences. With four albums of original music under her belt and many more singles, Naomi writes songs filled \u201cwith the stories, emotions, celebrations, and struggles of what it means to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n LaViolette is based in Portland, OR, and has collaborated with several local organizations. Since 2004, she has been the pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, in addition to working with the Oregon Symphony as a songwriter and arranger for The Lullaby Project. Her work with Saving His Music, a project preserving the music of a talented pianist suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, received prominent coverage both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n If you enjoyed this post, check out a few more from the Arts Blog celebrating the lives of women composers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At All Classical Radio, women composers have long been an essential part of our daily playlist. We\u2019re proud to shine a spotlight on underrepresented composers, both living and passed, and introduce listeners to the wealth of music written by them. In celebration of Women\u2019s History Month 2025, we\u2019re exploring the lives and careers of eight … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":103620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:07:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103619"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103658,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103619\/revisions\/103658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Victoria Yagling (1946-2011)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Errollyn Wallen (b. 1958)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Reena Esmail (b. 1983)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Naomi LaViolette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Keep Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n