Did you know that Clara Schumann was actually way more famous than her husband Robert when they got married? Did you know that French composer Hélène de Montgeroult spent much of her life composing piano etudes and writing about piano pedagogy, and was the first pianist to teach that the piano can sing? Did you know that German composer Emilie Mayer composed 8 incredible symphonies (as well as a lot of other music) despite the fact that nobody would publish her music? Did you know that French composer Mélanie Bonis had to sign her name “Mel Bonis” just so people would think she was a man and she would be able to publish her gorgeous piano music?
The Female Composer Club is all about teaching the next generation of musicians that women have composed amazing music for centuries. Most of us have grown up believing that the greatest music in the past has only been composed by men. While we love and revere the famous male composers, we recognize that there were also, in fact, incredible women composing music all throughout history. Many of them were pioneers and trailblazers, working against incredible odds and making important contributions to the development of music and pedagogy. These women were there, many were quite famous during their lifetimes, and they have been erased from history.
The purpose of the Female Composer Club is to get easy-to-implement resources and information into the hands of music teachers so that we can actually change the music history narrative that is being passed down from teacher to student.
Our students deserve musical role models that look like them. They deserve to know that they can compose, and that they can do great things in music. These composers deserve to have their music preserved and taught and performed and learned from.
The Female Composer Club is created by Jennifer Boster, NCTM, a piano teacher who is passionate about spreading the word that women have written great music throughout all eras of music history. You can also find Jenny at theplayfulpiano.com, where she has several books and resources dedicated to teaching people about female composers, and on Instagram @theplayfulpiano, where each March she curates a popular Female Composers Challenge for Women’s History Month.