Books/Publications
Women of Influence in Contemporary Music (2011)
In Women of Influence in Contemporary Music: Nine American Composers, Michael K. Slayton has collected essays, which focus on women who have made significant contributions to American music: Elizabeth Austin, Susan Botti, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Tania León, Cindy McTee, Marga Richter, and Judith Shatin. While these composers have much in common, not least of all dedication to their art, their individual stories reveal different impulses in American music. Their works reflect the shifting societal landscapes in the United States over the last seven decades, as well as different stylistic approaches to writing music.
Each chapter includes a biography of the composer, an interview, and a detailed analysis of one major composition. The composers openly reflect on their individual journeys, in which they have discovered respective musical languages and have found success during different times in history. Because few music books focus solely on female composers, Women of Influence in Contemporary Music offers a rare glimpse into the styles and attitudes of gifted women and their work.
In Women of Influence in Contemporary Music: Nine American Composers, Michael K. Slayton has collected essays (chapters) that focus on women who have made significant contributions to American music: Elizabeth R. Austin, Susan Botti, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Tania León, Cindy McTee, Marga Richter, and Judith Shatin.
Published Contributions
Foreword
Karin Pendle, Foreword to Women of Influence in Contemporary Music: “Who Are These Women?” Who are these women, these “women of influence?” Why have they been chosen to represent not “women composers” but “American composers,” and why have they been brought before us as people who have something important to say, something perhaps that we need…
Women of Influence in Contemporary Music: Editor’s Preface
Women of Influence in Contemporary Music was a collaborative project, a collection of nine chapters contributed by eight authors about nine prominent, living American composers: Elizabeth R. Austin, Susan Botti, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Tania León, Cindy McTee, Marga Richter, Judith Shatin. The idea for this book stemmed from my own work with the music of Elizabeth R. Austin. I had been…