Composer Elisabeth Blair grew up in the singer/songwriter scene, where it's common to find women performers and writers. So when she began moving into the field of classical composition, she noticed the absence of past and present composers who are women. They were rarely discussed, performed, or mentioned in textbooks. As a challenge to herself, Blair decided to feature one woman composer a day on a Facebook page. At the time, she wasn't sure it would continue for more than a month.
With a little searching, Blair discovered that composers who are women are not only much more common than she thought, they are also eager to talk about their work. Listening to Ladies expanded to its own webpage, featuring a daily online showcase, a concert series, and a podcast which first aired on September 26th, 2016. The podcast, adapted for WMUK radio, will be heard every Monday in the 10:00 am hour hosted by Cara Lieurance through February 6, 2017, and then semi-regularly as new episodes are produced.
The first episode is a discussion with German-born composer Ingrid Stölzel.
A professor at the University of Kansas, she writes music that connects through its formal beauty, faultless orchestration, and revealing honesty.
Continue listening for a follow-up interview, in which Elisabeth Blair talks to Cara Lieurance about creating the podcast. It begins at 27:00 into the audio.
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