BOULANGER INITIATIVE LAUNCHES NEW DATABASE AND PARTNERSHIP SERVICE, FURTHERING ITS MISSION OF DIVERSIFYING THE CLASSICAL CANON AND CHAMPIONING WORKS BY BIPOC, WOMEN, AND GENDER MARGINALIZED COMPOSERS
Invaluable and Open Access Database Currently Houses Over 8,000 Available Works by 1,200 Women and Gender Marginalized Composers
New Service Initiative “REDEFINING THE CANON” Aids Orchestras in Selecting Audition Materials and Season Programming By Historically Underrepresented Composers
Initial Seed Partners include the League of American Orchestras, African Diaspora Music Project, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and National Philharmonic
Monday, March 13, 2023: The BOULANGER INITIATIVE (BI)–a non-profit organization that advocates for women and all gender marginalized composers through performance, education, research, consulting, and commissions–is excited to announce two new pioneering programs that explode the canon of classical music: WOMEN AND GENDER MARGINALIZED COMPOSERS REPERTOIRE DATABASE and REDEFINING THE CANON.
WOMEN AND GENDER MARGINALIZED COMPOSERS REPERTOIRE DATABASE (BID)
The open-access and invaluable Women and Gender Marginalized Composers Repertoire Database (BID) officially launches on Monday, March 13 after years of researching archives, compiling data, and testing beta versions of the database. Boulanger Initiative’s Database addresses gender disparity and aids those who wish to diversify classical music programming by providing knowledge and resources to seek out works by underrepresented composers. The database currently houses over 8,000 available works by 1,200 women and gender marginalized—non cis-male, including trans and/or non-binary—composers, all available for free.
The current offerings focus on historical works, contributing to a greater collective knowledge of historical composers and recognition of their accomplishments, while expanding options for performance repertoire across historical periods. This expansion of the historical canon is essential in the 21st century.
“Building this database is about breaking down barriers,” shares EMILY MORIN, BID Director. “As a musician, I've enjoyed looking for piano music and chamber music composed by women, but always wished it could be a less time-consuming process. I'm proud to have contributed to Boulanger Initiative’s Database because it will expand access to information about gender marginalized composers and their music.”
The Database
Boulanger Initiative’s Database is designed with musicians, conductors, community performers, students, researchers, educators, and artistic administrators in mind, making it extremely user-friendly. As of its initial launch date, database users may search composers by country and/or state of origin, birth and death date ranges. Search options for works include: composer names; composition types; instruments, voice types, ensembles; languages (vocal works); duration ranges; ranges for year of publication; and publishers. Users will be able to refine their search results by checking filters for all of these categories as well. Database users will find a wealth of information about historic composers, including: links to composer websites and Wikipedia articles, race/ethnicity, notes on the composer, public domain images and photographs, and/or links to their works currently in the database. Information about works will include: links to scores (publisher and library access), audio and video recordings, and/or notes on relevant details such as text authors, translations, and movement titles.
“One of my favorite things about the database that will be available in future phases is being able to limit search results to pieces that have never been published that only exist in manuscript form,” shares LAURA COLGATE, BI Executive/Artistic Director and Co-Founder, “so if there are people out there who have funding, or are engravers, they can start getting these pieces published for the public.”
Expanding the Database
Designed as a living and growing database, users will be able to suggest the inclusion of both historical and new works, and the Boulanger Initiative will add recordings from festivals and concerts where its affiliated musicians and commissioned composers have performed and presented to offer more examples. Future features of BID will include filters for difficulty levels, themes, and other descriptive tags; search functionality using numerical shorthand for orchestral works; and information about where unpublished manuscripts are located.
“In future phases we will include the repertoire by living composers, too. After our initial launch focused on nonliving composers, we will begin contacting and working with living composers to ensure that we have their consent to include them,” says Colgate. “This is a huge undertaking and it will only continue to grow every day, so we have to acknowledge the team, from our research staff and database staff to the many volunteers and interns who made this a reality. In the field, it’s such a rare thing to feel like you're a real citizen artist making a difference. They are making this difference for gender marginalized composers and musicians who may now see themselves represented, and to audiences who deserve to hear the great music of composers who were excluded from programming because of their gender or race.”
For more information about BID and to register for the virtual launch event on March 13, please visit: https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/database
Interested parties may also request preview access of the beta-testing model before the official launch on March 13 by contacting emily@boulangerinitiative.org. Note: As this is beta-testing mode, the preview may not reflect all functionalities and design features of the final database.
REDEFINING THE CANON (RtC)
While many orchestras acknowledge the value of presenting a diverse array of repertoire, many of those producing seasons remain homogenous (with the overwhelming majority of programming being dedicated to the works of nonliving white European male composers) because of the time-consuming and arduous process of finding works by historically underrepresented composers. Boulanger Initiative has created an unprecedented partnership to offer more agency to those orchestras pursuing more inclusive and intersectional works for their classical performances: Redefining the Canon (RtC).
Committing to Change
By adding historically underrepresented composers–of all genders, races, and ethnicities–to required audition repertoire lists, this national field-wide effort will serve as a catalyst for orchestras to program more inclusive and diverse works and, in turn, attract a more diverse candidate pool for auditions. Redefining the Canon works with Orchestral Partners who provide support in the form of financial contributions, while musicians of Orchestral Partners participate as “excerpt foragers” to find short excerpts from works composed by historically underrepresented composers that could serve as replacements for already existing selections.
RtC Seed Partners
RtC has partnered with such recognized organizations as the League of American Orchestras and African Diaspora Music Project and acclaimed Orchestral Partners nationwide such as Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, and Houston-based ROCO, enabling a sustainable shift toward diversified programming. RtC is now looking worldwide for new Orchestral Partners to join Boulanger Initiative in the collective goal of welcoming, valuing, celebrating, and performing the works of composers of color and marginalized genders.
Colgate explains the concept succinctly: “With Redefining the Canon, we replace some audition excerpts with Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Florence Price, Louise Farrenc, and other underrepresented composers. If you want to have a diversified orchestra and have more representation from the players on the stage, then offering an excerpt list that inspires them and reflects their identities and lived experiences makes a difference. Instead of playing Beethoven’s Fifth again, why don't we put something new on there? Why don’t we dig deeper?”
For more information about Redefining the Canon and committing to BI’s initiative for inclusivity, please visit: https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/redefining-the-canon
TESTIMONIALS AND ACCOLADES
The groundbreaking Redefining the Canon initiative has been endorsed by the League of American Orchestras: “[RtC is] a unique opportunity for your orchestra to be a leader in an important EDI initiative that will have lasting impact on the entire field. This national effort is a unique means of adding historically underrepresented composers to required audition repertoire lists, and a great way for League member orchestras to access more inclusive and diverse works.”
Piotr Gajewski, Music Director of the National Philharmonic, and one of the original orchestral partners subscribing to RtC consulting services, says: “When I approached the Boulanger Initiative for their repertoire consulting services, I was deeply impressed by their level of expertise, attention to detail, and commitment to equitable research. Following the consultation, I received exactly what I needed in a very timely manner. The repertoire list they provided included all of the information we needed to help us program our upcoming season and recordings. I highly recommend this service to any arts organization looking to expand its repertoire with diverse composers. Cannot recommend it enough.”
JoAnn Faletta, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, states: “Boulanger Initiative is perfectly positioned to spearhead this expansion of our audition repertoire, and to bring our musical community together in a dynamic, committed, and positive way.”
GRAMMY Award-Winning Composer Jennifer Higdon shares the following: “Boulanger Initiative has done more to identify and catalog music by women than any other organization, and through Redefining the Canon they are in a unique position to affect crucial change throughout the industry, and ensure that women’s voices remain heard by audiences around the world.”
Boulanger Initiative recognizes and thanks the sponsors who have generously supported its mission. These partnerships are crucial in helping us to achieve BI’s ambitious goals and make a positive impact for underrepresented composers: the Sphinx Venture Fund & Sphinx Organization and The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation.
ABOUT BOULANGER INITIATIVE
Boulanger Initiative (BI) is a not-for-profit organization launched in Takoma Park, Maryland in 2018 by co-founders Dr. Laura Colgate and Dr. Joy-Leilani Garbutt to champion music created by gender marginalized composers. This includes the music of previous generations, works by living composers, and support for the creation of new music. BI is an independent artistic partner at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Performance:
Since 2019, Boulanger Initiative’s annual Women Composer Festival (WoCo Fest) has become one of the leading forums in the country for music composed by women. Held each year in various venues in DC and Maryland, this multi-day festival is a platform for presenting some of the most influential contemporary women and marginalized gender composers and performers, and focuses on different aspects of compositional practice, audience engagement, and conversations concerning equity in music. You can learn more about WoCo Fest 2022: Amaze, and view the festival trailer video here, or read about past festivals and other events here.
Education:
Lack of access to a gender marginalized composition mentor is one of the biggest barriers keeping young composers from being successful in their field. Boulanger Initiative provides workshops and residencies, both in-person and virtually, to students of all ages across the country. Learn more here.
Mission, Vision, and Values:
Boulanger Initiative advocates for women and all gender marginalized composers. BI fosters inclusivity and representation to expand and enrich the collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be. BI promotes music composed by women through performance, education, research, consulting, and commissions.
We envision a future in which Boulanger Initiative becomes obsolete when women and gender-marginalized composers no longer need our advocacy.
We believe in bringing communities together with respect. We focus on women and gender-marginalized composers not to create division but to build equity. Through active intersectional inclusivity, we work to end discrimination against composers, whether based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, or ability, by creating an artistic space where everyone is welcome, supported, and heard. We prioritize those with the least institutional power in all of our advocacy.
You can find out more about BI’s Mission, Vision, and Values here, or watch our trailer to learn more about us.