2023 Women’s History Month

Posted on February 28, 2023

All Classical Portland highlights women composers, conductors, and musicians year-round, and in March we’d like to take a closer look at the many contributions women have made to classical music. Read on to learn about the special programming coming up this month on All Classical Portland, in recognition of Women’s History Month.

Listen at 89.9 FM in Portland or worldwide from anywhere via the live player on our website.

PROGRAMMING & MORE

ON AIR – Throughout the month, All Classical Portland’s programming will include works written and performed by women composers, conductors, and musicians, including Florence Price, Amy Beach, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Jennifer Higdon, Ethel Barns, Christina Perri, Doreen Carwithen, and more. You’ll also hear performances conducted by Marin Alsop, JoAnn Falletta, and others.

ARTS BLOG – All Classical Portland’s Artist in Residence María García shares Five “Must Listen To” Women Composers.

ARTS BLOG – In honor of International Women’s Day, All Classical Portland’s Music Researcher & Digital Producer Rebecca Richardson shares a new blog post Women We Love to Play On Air, highlighting some of the extraordinary women you will hear on the air this month and all year long.

NOTEWORTHY – On Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 12:00 PM PT, host Lynnsay Maynard will feature an interview with American-Canadian author Ruth Ozeki, excerpts from her novel Tale for the Time Being, and music by Japanese composers.

PLAYED IN OREGON – On Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 1:00 PM PT, host Brandi Parisi will share a special encore broadcast of an episode featuring music by pioneering and contemporary women composers from Amy Beach to Caroline Shaw, and points in between. Enjoy performances from a concert called Vive La Femme by Mousai Remix, Chamber Music Northwest, and more!

NW PREVIEWS – On Friday, March 17, 2023, at 8:00 AM host Andrea Murray will examine Portland Opera’s upcoming production Thumbprint, an important work based on the true story of trailblazing Pakistani activist Mukhtar Mai. After surviving sexual violence perpetrated by a local tribal council in retribution for her brother’s alleged crimes, Mukhtar opened a village school for girls, where they could learn to read and write, so that they may avoid the humiliation of signing their names with only a thumbprint.

THURDAYS @ THREE – On March 30, 2023, at 3:00 PM host Christa Wessel and pianist María García will present a program entirely written by women composers.

ON DEMAND

THURDAYS @ THREE – On March 2, 2023, host Christa Wessel welcomed Portland Opera to share a preview of their upcoming production, Thumbprint. Composed by Kamala Sankaram, Thumbprint is inspired by the true story of Mukhtar Mai—a trailblazing Pakistani activist whose fight for justice and safety reminds us that women’s rights are human rights. Stream this episode featuring Portland Opera and the Elsewhere Ensemble until March 16, 2023.

NW PREVIEWS – On March 3, 2023, host Andrea Murray took us behind-the-scenes of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s upcoming West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize and three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Higdon‘s Cold Mountain Suite. Listen in the All Classical Portland Audio Archive until March 17, 2023.

ICAN

ON AIR – On Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 5:00 PM PT, the International Children’s Arts Network (ICAN) will air an Audio Book Tour of American Ballet Theatre’s Prima Ballerina Misty Copeland reading her book Bunheads. In 2015, she made history as ABT’s first-ever African American Female Principal Dancer. Bunheads tells the story of a young Misty, who discovers her love of dance through the ballet Coppélia–a story about a devious toymaker. Listen at ICANradio.org. Encore broadcast on Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 8:00 AM PT.

ON AIR – Abby’s Celtic Corner will premiere on Friday, March 17, 2023, at 12:00 PM PT for St. Patrick’s Day. Tune in weekly through April 14, 2023, at ICANradio.org for this five-part series that transports listeners to Ireland. We’ll hear about incredible Irish myths and legends, beautiful musical instruments, traditional Irish songs and learn some of the Irish language too.

ICAN BLOG – Famous Last Names: Learn about some of the women behind famous last names in classical music at ICANradio.org.

RECORDING INCLUSIVITY INITIATIVE

In 2021, All Classical Portland launched the Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII), to address the gap of classical music composers and musicians from underrepresented communities in concert halls and radio airwaves.

In October 2022, GRAMMY^® award-winning Navona Records and RII released its first-ever album, AMPLIFY, featuring all-new recordings of works by All Classical Portland composers in residence Lauren McCall, Jasmine Barnes, and Keyla Orozco. AMPLIFY also includes two posthumous works by Mélanie Hélène Bonis (1858-1937) and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004). Listen to the album radio launch party on our Arts Blog.

AMPLIFY is now available for purchase in the All Classical Portland Gift Shop.

Learn more at recordinginclusivity.allclassical.org.

Cd Cover for Amplify — AMPLIFY’s album cover artwork was created by **Monica Obaga**, an illustrator and graphic designer focused on producing artwork in support of women, the environment, and positive African representation.

Make a gift today: 888-899-5722