COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mississippi University for Women will host its second annual Music by Women Festival March 1-3. This international event is dedicated to highlighting the contributions of women composers historically as well as the present day.
As part of the festival, there will be 12 concerts spread throughout the three days, which are all free and open to the public. The concerts will take place March 1st (10 a.m., noon, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.), March 2nd (10 a.m., noon, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and March 3rd (10 a.m., noon, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.). Between the concerts, there will be concurrent lecture recitals and papers presented. The public must register to attend these sessions. All events will take place in Poindexter Hall on The W’s campus.
More than two hundred renowned performers and scholars from different parts of the world will gather to celebrate the musical contributions of women. University faculty from top research institutions and conservatories can be heard on the festival program. Some of the artists from this year include music faculty and students from the Conservatory of Music of the State of Mexico, Eastman School of Music, University of Miami, Hofstra University, University of North Carolina, James Madison University, University of Denver, University of Nevada, University of Texas, University of Michigan, University of Oregon, New York University, University of Massachusetts and many others. Artists are also singers from the Metropolitan Opera, laureates of international music competitions and musicians from prominent orchestras all around the world.
The presentation topics include exploration of the life and works of individual women composers from different regions, cultures, time periods and musical genres. In addition to the music by Eastern and Western European composers, performances and lecture recitals will cover music of African-American composers, indigenous Canadian musicians, film music, jazz and music of composers from Canada and Mexico (who will also be performing at the festival). Most research presented during the papers and lecture recitals places the people and compositions discussed in a historical setting and explores the influences of society, politics and religion on the composer and her work. The sessions also analyze the reception of the composer's work during her lifetime, as well as after her death. Therefore, although the festival describes the work of women composers, the overarching topic is the status, contribution and the reception of women in general throughout history.
This project is supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The festival concerts are also funded by the Leslie F. Threadgill Lecture & Artist Series.
For more information, including a complete schedule of events, and to register for the festival, please visit www.muw.edu/musicbywomen. For questions regarding the festival, please contact Dr. Julia Mortyakova, artistic director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 23, 2018