LibGuides: Music &amp; Gender Diversity: Getting Started

Welcome to the Music and Gender Diversity Research Guide!

This guide is designed to kickstart student research in music and gender diversity by highlighting key resources, databases, and strategies in the discipline.

Websites to Explore

Alliance for Women Film Composers
A community of composers and colleagues who strive to support and celebrate the work of women composers through advocacy and education.
Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice
The Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice focuses on equity in the jazz field and the role that jazz plays in the larger struggle for gender justice. The institute celebrates the contributions women have made in the development of the art form as well as frame more equitable conditions for all pursuing careers in jazz in an effort to work toward a necessary and lasting cultural shift in the field.
DONNE: Women in Music
Learn stories of so many neglected women composers. Contains live interviews with women composers making their mark in the music world.
female:pressure
A curated image-based collection of women+ & non-binary, trans artists in music production & performing arts in their working environment with in their own process, in relation to technology, a political effort. female:pressure is an international network for women+ trans and non-binary artists in the fields of electronic music and digital arts with over 2200 artists from 75 countries founded in 1998 by Electric Indigo.
No Broken Links
The No Broken Links directories are a starting point for scholars, performers, composers, and teachers to discover solo and chamber repertoire by minority composers for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, and horn. The directories focus specifically on the work of womxn, transgender & gender non-conforming individuals, and/or Black, Indigenous, or persons of color.
Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy
We celebrate the vast range of orchestral music by women, and encourage orchestras to program it! All around us people are suddenly aware of long-ingrained sexist practices, and questioning their entrenched status. We work to reveal the centuries of music by women, much of it lost to history due to gender bias – and help provide information and resources to make that music available.

Composer Diversity Database
This award-winning Composer Diversity Database allows users to discover over 4000 composers of historically underrepresented genders, racial, ethnic, and cultural heritages, and sexual orientations. You can search by composer name, living or deceased, common large and small ensemble genres, racial, ethnic, or cultural demographics, and by location (city, state, and country).
The Kapralova Society: Women in Music
An affiliate member of the International Alliance for Women in Music, the Society's mission is to promote interest in Kapralova and other women in music through scholarly research, education, and special projects, often in partnership with schools of music, public broadcasters, publishing houses, and other organizations.
Kassia Database: The Women's Art Song Database
The Kassia Database is a resource geared toward aiding singers, instructors of voice, pianists, researchers, and music lovers to discover and celebrate art song by women composers. The database includes songs from the Baroque period through the 21st century, and have been categorized by level, voice type, language, composer, and composer dates
Many Many Women: An Index of Over 1000 Composers, Improvisers, and Sonic Artists
Focuses on women making various kinds of experimental/avant garde music. Some of these artists may also work within more mainstream forms, but they are included here because of their other work that is more challenging.
Music Theory Examples by Women
This is a database of excerpts and complete musical compositions by women composers. The music is categorized by theoretical concept for use in music education.
Women Composers by Time Period
Compiled by Grove Music Online. This database includes biographical entries on women composers throughout history.
Check out the "Works by Women in Con Library" tab of this guide to find music by these composers that the library already owns.

BIPOC and Women Composers (PDF)
Recently Published Works by BIPOC and Women Composers looks at pieces published in what we consider the contemporary period (1945-current) of music history. Composers are organized by identity and then alphabetically last name. There are often direct links to OBIS records or publisher information. In addition to the name of the composer and the title of the piece, they provide instrumentation and some additional notes.
Adapted from “Music Received” in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Vol. 77, No. 3, Compiled by Kathleen A. Abromeit.
Latin American Women (PDF)
Recently Published Works by Latin American Women looks at pieces published in what
we consider the contemporary period (1945-current) of music history. Composers are
organized alphabetically by last name. There are often direct links to OBIS records or publisher websites. In addition to the name of the composer and the title of the piece, they provide instrumentation and some additional notes.
Adapted from “Music Received” in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Vol. 78, No. 2, Compiled by Kathleen A. Abromeit.
Percussion Music by Women Composers (PDF)
Recent Published Percussion Music by Women Composers looks at pieces published in what we consider the contemporary period (1945-current) of music history. Composers are organized alphabetically by last name. There are often direct links to OBIS records or publisher websites. In addition to the name of the composer and the title of the piece, they provide instrumentation and some additional notes.
Adapted from “Music Received” in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Vol. 80, No. 1, Compiled by Kathleen A. Abromeit
Works for Solo Guitar by Women Composers (PDF)
Recent Published Works for Solo Guitar by Women Composers look at pieces published in what we consider the contemporary period (1945-current) of music history. Composers are organized alphabetically by last name. There are often direct links to OBIS records or publisher websites. In addition to the name of the composer and the title of the piece, they provide instrumentation and some additional notes.
Adapted from “Music Received” in Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Vol. 78, No. 3, Compiled by Kathleen A. Abromeit