The Score | Denver’s Women in Music Symposium

In October, Denver was the gathering place for a symposium meant to address what organizers called “the underrepresented role of women in the classical music industry.” Over two days, the Denver Young Artists Orchestra hosted the Women in Music Symposium in partnership with the Colorado Symphony and the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. The symposium was held at the university and included masterclasses, recitals, panel discussions, and lectures about the evolving experience of women in music. At lecture-recitals, university faculty and composers including Hilary Tann and Jennifer Barker discussed their work. Said Kenney, “I didn’t understand until I was in college that conducting and composition had been male-dominated throughout history. While there have been strides made in composition, members of major orchestras, and even their music directors, a closer look reveals there’s still a long way to go. It’s a process of education and it’s wonderful the Young Artists Orchestra can contribute.” The topic was certainly in the air in the second half of 2017, with the Bangor and Virginia symphony orchestras and Oregon’s Chamber Music Northwest among those devoting programs to music by women composers and an increasing number of composition programs for young women.