For the past 10 years I have been involved in department chairing, first at Clark University in Massachusetts, and then at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) lead the Department of Music to develop a research focus in contemporary music. I have decided that my time of contributing to university administration is completed, and I plan to re-direct that time and energy toward women in music, both through focusing on my own composing and through scholarship exploring issues related to the development of women composers and a "feminist voice" in music.
I served on the board of what was American Women Composers in the early 1990's as a junior faculty member, and have attended IAWM Congresses and a number of Feminist Theory and Music conferences since then, where I have had the pleasure of having my music performed and presenting my research. I would enjoy returning to IAWM as a board member to work to support the development of other women musicians, thus to return what was offered to me. I also am interested in connecting to women composers at all stages of their lives as I conduct research to understand what is required for women composers to develop their distinct voices.
Linda Dusman's compositions have provided stimulating and thought-provoking listening experiences for audiences throughout the world. Her work has been awarded by the State of Maryland in 2004 and 2006 (in both the Music: Composition and the Visual Arts: Media categories), the Swiss Women's Music Forum, the American Composers Forum, the International Electroacoustic Music Festival of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Ucross Foundation, among others. She was composer in residence at the New England Conservatory's Summer Institute for Contemporary Piano in 2003.
Linda Dusman returned to the theater in 2006 in her collaboration with actress Wendy Salkind on a sonic environment for a performance of Gertrude Stein's novel Ida. She is currently composing a duo for piccolo and alto flute for the inHale duo, and magnificat 4: chairoscuro for trombone and surround electronics as a contribution to Abbie Conant's Wired Goddess series. Other recent composition projects include a commission from violinist Airi Yoshioka for magnificat 3: lament, for solo violin and electronics, involving collaboration with interactive animator Alan Price. This work constitutes the third in a series of compositions entitled magnificat written for members of the contemporary ensemble RUCKUS, in residence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. O Star Spangled Stripes I was premiered by the Hoffmann/Goldstein Duo in 2005. Her works are recorded on the NEUMA, Capstone, and New Albany labels.
As a frequent contributor to the literature on contemporary music and performance, Dr. Dusman's articles have appeared in the journals Link, Perspectives of New Music, and Interface, as well as in anthologies. She was a founding editor of the journal Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture, and is as an associate editor for Perspectives of New Music. Dr. Dusman has served as Chair of the Music Department at UMBC since 2000, and formerly held the Jeppson Chair in Music at Clark University in Massachusetts.
Through this letter, I wish to express my desire to form part of the Board of Directors -for the next term- representing Argentina and those Latin American countries that wish to be related in any way with IAWM.
All over Argentina, wherever there is development of Cultural Organization for Women, I could develop some activities related to art (e.g. music) and thus, I could help those women who -in one way or another- work alone. For example the organization known as "Argentinean Forum of Composers" and all other groups that may wish to participate, relate, and help in this manner could be approached.
I have been a member of IAWM for several years and I have participated in this 'Forum' in my province of Mendoza. I am the only one who participates and I communicate with people all over the world. I would invite these people to participate, express their opinion, and to propagate my music, etc. I do this out of my own will and effort because there is nothing similar around here. There is no support towards these activities. Furthermore, IAWM is not well known in this place where I live and I believe that through the Internet I could make it more widely known.
At the same time, I could try to communicate with people in Buenos Aires, and seek the participation of all those who could be useful in our relationship towards this end.
While I don't have money for traveling I would be willing to help -according to my own resources, especially the Internet. In the same way, I could invite musicians to write reports and offer some information on music activities in Latin America that would be of interest to IAWM journal.
From my position, I cannot offer anything else than my own humble connections and help to all those women at my geographic area in Argentina and Latin America, who may have the desire to participate in this great cause throughout the world.
Adriana Isabel Figueroa Manas (1966): graduated in 1997 from the school of music at the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina, and she has completed master courses in Latino-American music, in the same University, a few years ago.
Adriana frequently takes part in a variety of musical groups, playing various styles including chamber music and popular music such as fusion and jazz. She plays the saxophone (alto and soprano), flute, piccolo, and contralto flute.
She is also the saxophonist in the "West Jazz Band", a traditional jazz band that was created seventeen years ago. The have participated in some very important performances in Mendoza, as well as jazz festivals in other provinces of Argentina.
Adriana is a member of the International Alliance of Women in Music (IAWM). Since Adriana is also a technician in computation, the computer has become a musical tool for her, and she makes full use of all available devices and programs for musical composition, as well as communications tools, such as the Internet.
Adriana currently teaches music, composition, orchestration, flute and sax, and has many works, premiered around the world, that take part of repertories of orchestras, groups, etc. She has some prizes and honored mentions in Argentina and other Countries like Italia, United States, etc.
For more information and listening some examples of her music go to: http://www.ciweb.com.ar/figueroa.
When I was young and just beginning undergraduate studies in composition, I didn't really think that my being a composer was somewhat rare for a woman. It's just what I wanted to do. But I soon noticed few female colleagues and even fewer women prize winners in competitions and in graduate programs, not to mention few women on new music concerts. In retrospect I feel quite fortunate to never have been treated differently by my undergraduate teachers. I worked there with some outstanding teachers who nurtured and challenged me but never tried to change my own expression or limit it. Among them was Marilyn Shrude - my mentor and introduction to the IAWM (then under the auspices of the ILWC). This was not always present in later experiences. At times in this field I have felt trivialized, patronized, pigeon-holed, and marginalized because of my gender. But always I felt that I had support and camaraderie because of my close affiliation with the IAWM and by acquaintance with several specific professional women composers. The IAWM has been a crucial ally in my struggle to stay centered and creatively authentic.
For many years I have been a rather silent IAWM supporter and member. Although I have always encouraged my female colleagues to consider IAWM membership and participation in the organization's many opportunities, I did not become particularly vocal in the organization until I volunteered to write a CD review in 2006 (vol. 12, no. 2). I have realized that I have much to offer back to the organization and women who have so nourished and supported me. It follows that now I am taking a bigger leap into running for a position on the Board.
I am now active in many arenas of musical life - from teaching, performing, research, and composition to copyist work and doctoral studies. One of the musical activities I very much enjoy is vocal improvisation using extended vocal techniques (noise-making). This delightful experience brings me directly "home" to my early joy in music making. This is precisely what I wish to bring to the IAWM - I want to be a voice reminding us all of the direct, joyful experience of music, and to challenge others to think outside of any box. For despite any pedagogical, personal, and/or discriminatory roadblocks I have encountered in my field, it is the simple joy of playing with sound and witnessing and supporting others doing the same that is at the heart of my musical career.
I feel a particular burden to encourage young women to explore their own interests and motivations in music and to stand in community against those influences that might seek to hold them back or to change or diminish their own voices. To this end I wish to continue to expand under the auspices of IAWM a reflexive dialogue between professional musicians and women at earlier stages in their careers. I believe that it is this kind of open communication that will make us, both individually and collectively, more resilient and dynamic.
Composer and soprano Jenece Gerber is interested in exploring how sound can convey meaning, suggest multiple meanings, be meaningful and obliterate or obfuscate meaning. She has written for traditional ensembles and very non-traditional ensembles and soloists. In October 2007 the New York Virtuoso Singers premiered her je me delace (with texts by 16th century poet Louis Labe and by the composer). In August of the same year the Season Quartet premiered her string quartet judge a moth by the beauty of its candle as part of the "Summer in Sombor" composition program in Serbia. Her Oregon Sketches for solo piano was performed at the 2005 National Conference of the Society of Composers and she has received performances from ensembles as diverse as the Barton Workshop and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. In addition to studying for the Ph.D in composition with Jeff Stadelman at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Jenece is a master's degree candidate in vocal performance at the University of Akron, and currently studies voice with Tony Arnold at SUNY at Buffalo. She received the Master of Music degree in composition from the University of Akron and from Bowling Green State University she received the Bachelor of Arts in ethnomusicology with an emphasis in music composition emphasis and a minor in women's studies. She has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, the Contemporary Ensemble at SUNY at Buffalo, the Open Music Ensemble, and in special engagements at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo. She is a member of the International Alliance for Women in Music, the Society of Composers, Inc., the American Music Center, and ASCAP.
More than fifteen years ago, Dr. Judith Shatin invited me to become a board member of American Women Composers. In that role I also became one of the founding board members of IAWM and have been active in the organization ever since. In recent years I have been the digital communications coordinator of IAWM supervising and running the listservs and the website for the organization and I have been most grateful for the enthusiastic efforts of other IAWM board members for helping in these projects. I have also served as vice president of the organization for the past couple of years.
As a continuing board member I would like to do the following: continue to grow our international membership and serve that membership in the fullest possible capacity by making sure that our paying members receive all their benefits including their journal issues and regular announcements regarding competition opportunities and awardees. I would also like to finish the final few uncompleted pages of the IAWM website. To this end, I am currently the person in charge of all journal claims and sales of past issue 'fill-ins' and have also begun to fill out the IAWM site along with the help of several volunteers. These are fairly mundane goals and tasks that I have set for myself but I believe that it is these types of tasks that most benefit us all. Our journals and competitions are a great member service and I look forward to helping ensure that they continue to receive a high profile and critical praise they deserve and that the tireless volunteers who take care of these items receive the best digital and logistical support possible from me for their endeavors.
Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner (b. 1964) received her D.M.A. (1991) in music composition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has served as acting director of the electronic and computer music studios at Florida International University in Miami and the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Iowa and has been a faculty member at the University of Illinois and the Oberlin Conservatory. She is the vice president and webmaster for the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM). Currently she serves as Student Computing Services Manager at the University of North Texas.
Hinkle-Turner is the author of the book series Women Composers and Music Technology: Crossing the Line (volume one: United States released by Ashgate Publishing in January 2006 and winner of the 2007 Certificate of Merit from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections) and the cd-rom Full Circle. She has won awards from the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges, IAWM (Pauline Alderman Award), ASCAP, Mu Phi Epsilon, Meet the Composer, and the American Music Center. She is the owner of the WAVE_LIST listserv - a list devoted to the discussion and study of gender issues in music technology.
As a Board member of IAWM for several years, I have enjoyed the role and have found it to be both rewarding and a valuable in my growth as a liaison between Korean composers and IAWM. I would like to continue developing this link between Korean composers and the IAWM as a Board member.
I believe it is important for IAWM to continue to develop a relationship with woman composers in Korea where the majority of composers are female. As a board member I would be able to continue this work and to extend my service experience to other Asian countries. I am an active composer and have served in various composers' organizations, such as Asian Composers League. I am highly experienced in organizing international festivals and events and cultural exchanges. With my skills and experience, I would be able to contribute in promoting IAWM's efforts in the areas of developing a global relationship with musicians.
In 2000, I introduced IAWM to KSWC(Korean Society of Women Composers) and contributed to hold the '2003 International Festival of Women in Music Today, Seoul' in which I served as the Executive Director. I also have served as a committee member of 9th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women and as the Event Director of 13th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists. My wide range of interests in womens' studies have been aided by the opportunity to serve as an IAWM board member.
Thank you for your consideration of my nomination as a continuing Board member and I would appreciate your support.
Cecilia Heejeong Kim, Ph.D. -
Composer / Stage Director /
Associate Professor, College of Music, Sang Myung University, Seoul, Korea
I have been actively involved in women in music issues for 37 years and a member of the IAWM since 1976--long before its amalgamation. Those were lonely years for many of us working in isolation without the wonderful internet connections we have today. The Journals were really the only contacts we all had to one another. They were lifelines for me. I will be forever grateful to Sally Reid who patiently guided me in the 1980s through my first blundering attempts at internet emails. It was a heady experience and an exhilarating one to know that I was not alone in my quest to promote women in music.
My women in music course at the University of Manitoba in 1986 was the first of its kind in Canada and one I have taught for the last 21 years. Its syllabus appeared on the original IAWM website and served as a model for other such courses in North America. I have contributed numerous "Reports from Canada" as well as articles to the IAWM Journal.
My research interest is on women composers and performers from 1770-1830 with a special focus on women harpists, and music as domestic entertainment. I am intrigued with the roles music plays in the novels of Jane Austen and in the conduct/courtesy manuals, and have published extensively in these areas. For details, please visit http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/music/staff/253.htm
I am a former member of the IAWM Board of Directors and have served on many of its committees. I am actively involved in advocacy issues and have been a member of this committee for many years.
Since November of 2004, I have been responsible for selecting the composers for the weekly radio requests which Linda Rimel (chair, Advocacy Committee) posts on the IAWM list. Our advocacy effort began with a handful of radio stations willing to play music by women, and has grown to an impressive number of prominent radio stations throughout North America, Australia, and Europe. Please see http://www.iawm.org and click on "Radio Requests" for further information on this project.
Ursula M. Rempel -
Faculty of Music
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Canada