Finding Music by Composers from Underrepresented Groups
Online resources for finding composers from underrepresented groups
These resources will help you find underrepresented composers and identify their works. The tab "How do I find music by underrepresented composers" will explain some steps you can take to locate works for study or performance.
- Institute for Composer DiversityFounded by composer Rob Deemer, this institute is hosted at the State University of New York at Fredonia. The institute's site hosts two databases, one for composers and one for works. These databases are searchable by a number of data fields, including demographic criteria and work genre/type.
- Composers of Color Database (IN PROGRESS), by Rob DeemerA project of composer Rob Deemer. He includes a disclaimer:
"This list is intended to provide performers, conductors, educators, and researchers a tool to discover composers who are outside of the
traditional white european composer community, so please take the inclusion of composers on this list with that in mind." - Music Theory Examples by WomenSpanning historical periods from pre-baroque to contemporary, this database project presents examples for use in music theory instruction by women composers. The project was co-founded by Molly Murdock and Ben Parsell. Examples are grouped by the concepts they can be used to teach.
- Music by Black Composers YouTube ChannelRecordings of works featured in the first volume of the Music by Black Composers series are featured on this channel.
- incipitsify -- YouTube ChannelA YouTube channel featuring the works of contemporary composers presented as sound recordings with images of the score presented as the audio plays. The works of some composers from traditionally underrepresented groups can be found here.
- ScoreFollower -- YouTube ChannelA YouTube channel featuring the works of contemporary composers presented as sound recordings with images of the score presented as the audio plays. The works of some composers from traditionally underrepresented groups can be found here.
- The Spirituals DatabaseThis database can be used to find recordings of African American Spirituals performed by solo voices.
- The Daffodil PerspectiveAn online radio show designed to feature composers from underrepresented backgrounds.
- The African American Art Song AllianceThis website features lists of composers, performers, scholars, and publishers of African American art song.
- African Diaspora Music ProjectThis site features a searchable database of composers of the African Diaspora.
Publication projects
- Music by Black ComposersA project, founded by violinist Rachel Barton Pine, to make music by Black composers available to music students. A volume of music for violin with piano or second violin has been published.
Library resources for finding composers from underrepresented groups
International Dictionary of Black Composers by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 1884964273Publication Date: 1999-04-01First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Women Composers and Songwriters by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 0810831309Publication Date: 1996-08-08Updates and expands Claghorn's previous book, Women Composers and Hymnists (Scarecrow, 1984), presenting succinct biographies for female composers in both secular and sacred music.
The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater by Call Number: ML100 .Q44 2004 (Reference)ISBN: 1573441988Publication Date: 2004-11-24Aficionados of music, dance, opera and musical theatre will relish this volume featuring over 200 articles showcasing composers, singers, musicians, dancers and choreographers across eras and styles. Read about Hildegard of Bingen, whose Symphonia expressed both spiritual and physical desire for the Virgin Mary, and George Frideric Handel, who not only created roles for castrati but was behind the Venetian opera's preoccupations with gender ambiguity. Discover Alban Berg's Lulu, opera's first openly lesbian character. And don't forget Kiss Me Kate, written by openly gay Cole Porter.
Latin American Classical Composers by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 1461669111Publication Date: 2002-01-01Building on the strengths of the first edition, the second edition of Latin American Classical Composers: A Biographical Dictionary presents expanded and updated coverage of its topic with an aim to be comprehensive. The authors have conducted exhaustive research to fill in gaps and correct minor errors in the first edition, adding young composers and documenting deaths since 1996, when the first edition appeared. Hundreds of composers are represented in this volume, which presents biographical data, including dates of birth and death, personal information about composers' background and training, and a selective listing of each composer's works. Sources for further study are noted within each entry. An index of composers by country rounds out this work.
