As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it is a joy to reflect on the quality and bounty of music by women composers. We often read and hear about the quality of music by composers such as Hildegard von Bingen, Clara Schumann, and Fanny Mendelssohn, and more recently Amy Beach and Florence Price, but now more than ever their music is being heard in concerts and on recordings. Additionally, contemporary women composers are getting their due in their/our time: Joan Tower, Jennifer Higdon, Jocelyn Hagen, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Hildur Guðnadóttir, to name a few. It is so heartening to see our local ensembles performing more works by these leading composers.

Throughout the year, KMFA plays music by formidable women composers, often performed by outstanding women instrumentalists, conductors, and singers, and in March we will be featuring many of these artists. We hope that you will enjoy our offering. On that note,  I would like to invite you to listen to KMFA’s weekly broadcast of Feminine Fusion with host Diane Jones, which “highlights the influence of women in classical music." Catch it Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. Joyous listening!

- Dianne Donovan