What is it about?
Although we know much more about the challenges confronting women and other marginalised groups in music, little has been done within higher education. Women composers in western art music continue to experience a masculine bias that has its roots in the past. In this study we looked at how female composers create their careers and we made recommendations for higher music education.
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Why is it important?
The pedagogical practices and curricular design that might support aspiring women composers are in urgent need of attention. Numerous composers surveyed noted the under-representation of music composed by women in their higher education curricula. They also described their initial unpreparedness for a career in music. The article makes practical recommendations for a more gender balanced music curriculum in higher education.
Perspectives
Although gender in music is a a difficult issue which will require sectoral change, there are things we can do within every higher education institution. Practical recommendations such as this are crucial to change, so we hope to see more such research and subsequent action.
Professor Dawn Bennett
Curtin University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Creating a career as a woman composer: Implications for music in higher education, British Journal of Music Education, June 2018, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0265051718000104.
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