as published in the IAWM Journal, June 1995, pp. 1.
Dear Colleagues:
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the first Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music.
As most of you know, last year was a busy and momentous one. In addition to maintaining our regular activities and membership services, we negotiated a successful merger between the International League of Women Composers, the International Congress on Women in Music, and American Women Composers, Inc. From these parents, the IAWM was officially born on January 1, 1995.
The move makes eminent sense in times such as ours: it allows us to share information, to eliminate redundancies (such as duplicate memberships), and to focus our energies and plot a common strategy. Divided, our power is diminished; united, it gains enormously in strength and effectiveness.
The IAWM, although newly born, recognizes the importance of continuity. It warmly embraces its multiple heritages and supports all the ongoing projects of its parent organizations. Indeed, its combined services add up to a rich array of benefits for members; too numerous to list individually, these include:
· the IAWM Journal, an invaluable resource for opportunities, networking, topical articles, reviews, and news of professional activities;
· the IAWM membership directory, updated regularly;
· a national office in Washington, D.C. which serves as a clearinghouse for inquiries and information;
· an electronic list and on-line access to IAWM news;
· competitions and awards;
· a library of members' scores, housed at George Washington University;
· several radio broadcast series in the U.S. and abroad;
· a yearly concert at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., with a program of member works chosen from anonymous submissions; and
· International Congresses on Women in Music, hosted every other year by different cities throughout the world.
At the same time, the IAWM also breaks new ground. The change of name from 'women composers' to 'women in music,' for example, is not merely semantic: it reflects our belief that the work of women composers is best disseminated through regular contact with other musicians, critics, and the public at large. As a result, the IAWM has widened its scope and is actively reaching out to a broader constituency. It invites into its ranks performers - instrumentalists, singers, and conductors - and musicologists; it extends a welcome to men as well as women, and to amateurs as well as professionals.
Our goals for the future are ambitious and wide-ranging; broadly outlined, they are:
· to establish regular links with performing institutions and individual performers, publishing houses, recording companies, and the media;
· to forge closer cooperation with other groups that share our interests and agenda;
· to increase international representation abroad and minority participation in the U.S.;
· to become the principal electronic information resource for women-in-music topics by increasing access to on-line services;
· to launch a scholarly journal of feminist musicology and foster research in this area; and
· to create outreach programs in schools, universities, and libraries, and to provide mentorships for young women musicians.
In short, the IAWM aims to become a strong and effective, high-profile advocate on behalf of women in music, whether composers, performers, or musicologists. It seeks to provide financial support, intellectual inspiration, and moral encouragement for all those involved in the struggle for fairness and equality.
For successfully having laid the foundations of the IAWM, I would personally like to acknowledge the hard work and generosity of all our board members, with special thanks to vice president Sally Reid and our new journal editor Sylvia Glickman.
To turn all of our dreams into reality, however, we need your help: we ask that you lend us your talents and energies, your support and goodwill, in building the IAWM. As always, your financial contributions over and above membership dues are a crucial (and warmly appreciated) source of our strength. But we also invite your input and assistance in the day-to-day running of the organization. Whether you are interested in joining our board, volunteering to oversee current activities, or initiating new projects, we want to make sure that your voice is heard.The greater our numbers, the louder our voice will be. This is a challenge to every current member to bring in one new member in 1995!
Help us create an equitable future for the generations yet to come. Together, we can do it.
With best regards,
Stefania de Kenessey, President, IAWM