{"id":64375,"date":"2020-03-01T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T18:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/?p=64375"},"modified":"2026-01-23T13:01:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:01:49","slug":"10-contemporary-women-composers-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/10-contemporary-women-composers-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Contemporary Women Composers You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you&#8217;re familiar with the history of classical music, you may know that historically classical music hasn&#8217;t been the most welcoming field for women, and there is a long way to go before women classical composers of today are performed and recognized at the same level as their male peers. That said, here are some of our favorite contemporary women composers shaping the future of classical music, right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope you&#8217;ll give these compositions a listen, and fall in love with this music as we have. Want to share your thoughts? Get in touch via email: <a href=\"mailto:info@allclassical.org\">info@allclassical.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NEC Philharmonia | Gabriela Lena Frank - Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4Mc_zGgpF0I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glfcam.com\/people\/gabriela\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gabriela Lena Frank<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently serving as Composer-in-Residence with the storied Philadelphia Orchestra and included in the Washington Post&#8217;s list of the 35 most significant women composers in history (August, 2017), identity has always been at the center of composer\/pianist Gabriela Lena Frank&#8217;s music. Born in Berkeley, California (September, 1972), to a mother of mixed Peruvian\/Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian\/Jewish descent, Gabriela explores her multicultural heritage most ardently through her compositions. Inspired by the works of Bela Bart\u00f3k and Alberto Ginastera, Gabriela is something of a musical anthropologist. She has traveled extensively throughout South America and her pieces reflect and refract her studies of Latin American folklore, incorporating poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a western classical framework that is uniquely her own.<br><strong>Recommended Listening:<\/strong> <em>Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"To the Hands: No. 6. I Will Hold You\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1-UxebBWdno?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/carolineshaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Caroline Shaw<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A New York-based musician, vocalist, violinist, composer, and producer, who performs in solo and collaborative projects. She was the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for <em>Partita for 8 Voices<\/em>, written for the Grammy-winning Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member. Recent commissions include new works for Ren\u00e9e Fleming with Inon Barnatan, Dawn Upshaw with S\u014d Percussion and Gil Kalish, the Orchestra of St. Luke\u2019s with John Lithgow, the Dover Quartet and many more.<br><strong>Recommended Listening:<\/strong> <em>To the Hands: No. 6. I Will Hold You<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sueno Recurrente\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3nOmUgLVoe4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angelicanegron.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ang\u00e9lica Negr\u00f3n<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Ang\u00e9lica Negr\u00f3n writes music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys and electronics as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras. Her music has been described as \u201cwistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative\u201d (WQXR) and \u201cmesmerizing and affecting\u201d (Feast of Music) while The New York Times noted her \u201ccapacity to surprise\u201d and her \u201cquirky approach to scoring\u201d. Ang\u00e9lica is currently working on a lip sync opera titled Chimera for drag queen performers and chamber ensemble exploring the ideas of fantasy and illusion, as well as the intricacies and complexities of identity.<br><strong>Recommended Listening: <\/strong><em>Sue\u00f1o Recurrente<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zo\u00eb Keating - Sun Will Set\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DfdPtNf7c4Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re familiar with the history of classical music, you may know that historically classical music hasn&#8217;t been the most welcoming field for women, and there is a long way to go before women classical composers of today are performed and recognized at the same level as their male peers. That said, here are some &#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":69940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-21 04:18:59","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\/64375","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\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64375"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108890,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64375\/revisions\/108890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}