Boulanger Initiative

Boulanger Initiative Boulanger Initiative’s mission is to promote music composed by women through performance, education

Come and learn the REAL story of Classical music in the United States. BI goes head to head with the assumption that US-...
05/27/2026

Come and learn the REAL story of Classical music in the United States. BI goes head to head with the assumption that US-American music was written solely by men, and introduces you to the Women Composers of the United States: not as additions, but as essential voices in shaping the nation’s sound. This virtual course excavates the buried history of women's voices, revealing a more balanced and accurate musical landscape shaped by a diverse range of creators, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Queen Lili’uokalani, Julia Perry, Margaret Ruthven Lang, Zenobia Powell Perry, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and many, many more.. Enter into a guided discussion, listen to samples of once well-known music and composers who were buried by history and the myth of male legitimacy, and deepen your understanding of the United States’ musical identity.

Sessions run June 29-July 1, and financial aid is available. This course can be attended synchronously or asynchronously, and recordings will be available to all registrants for a month following its conclusion. Attendees will also receive a listening link, further reading lists, and a 20% discount code to purchase BI’s curriculums and merchandise.

https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/america250-balancing-the-narrative-women-creating-music-in-the-united-states-virtual-course

There is still time to register for our upcoming "Where are the Women?" virtual course!Where are the women? This course ...
05/25/2026

There is still time to register for our upcoming "Where are the Women?" virtual course!

Where are the women? This course will answer this question, beginning with a brief discussion examining why, in the 21st century, the Classical music industry is still not inclusive of music by women. We will discover how we got here, what needs to be done, and what you can do to create a more level playing field for the future of classical music. Each day will cover a different era of music history from the Baroque through present day, discussing the conditions and context of the time that enabled or prevented women from composing music, highlighting multiple composers from each era, and providing a list of works and recording locations with which participants can further familiarize themselves.

https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/2026/6/8/where-are-the-women-virtual-course

This course is for performers, educators, students, music lovers—anyone who suspects (or KNOWS) the version of music his...
05/21/2026

This course is for performers, educators, students, music lovers—anyone who suspects (or KNOWS) the version of music history they learned is incomplete. Across four sessions, we’ll explore women composers across every major era, the contexts they worked in, how the canon was formed, and repertoire ready to be listened to, studied, programmed, and performed. Participants leave with a deeper view of music history, a long list of new composers to explore, and a renewed sense of how much extraordinary music exists beyond familiar names and narratives.

Reignite your spark for music. Register below:
https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/2026/6/8/where-are-the-women-virtual-course

TODAY!Join Boulanger Initiative for a virtual Wikithon editing party! Whether you’re a seasoned editor or a first-timer,...
05/21/2026

TODAY!

Join Boulanger Initiative for a virtual Wikithon editing party! Whether you’re a seasoned editor or a first-timer, help expand and improve Wikipedia entries highlighting women’s achievements across history, culture, and the arts. Bring your curiosity, your keyboard, and your love for stories that deserve to be told. This month, we are working on composers whose articles are only a few sentences long, AKA "stubs!"

Register through the link below:
https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/boulanger-initiative-wikithon-stubs

For centuries, women composed symphonies, operas, chamber music, sacred works, and songs.So WHY can most classical music...
05/18/2026

For centuries, women composed symphonies, operas, chamber music, sacred works, and songs.
So WHY can most classical musicians only name Clara Schumann or Hildegard von Bingen?
“Where Are the Women?” is a four-day course that takes a deep dive into the history of women composers from the Medieval era through today exploring not only the music itself, but the systems that erased these composers from the canon in the first place.
If you’ve ever felt like music history was incomplete, you were right.
Join BI Research Manager Dr. Caiti Beth McKinney for an in-depth course designed for performers, educators, students, arts lovers, and anyone curious about the music history we weren’t taught.
🎻 Attend live or asynchronously
📚 Listening lists + further reading included
🎥 Recordings available for one month
💡 Financial aid available

June 8–11 | 5:30–7:30 PM ET
Sign-up at the link below:
https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/2026/6/8/where-are-the-women-virtual-course

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! 📢Join author Dr. Susan McClary for a discussion on how to discuss women composers. Much of the ...
05/17/2026

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! 📢

Join author Dr. Susan McClary for a discussion on how to discuss women composers. Much of the scholarship concerning women composers has focused on biography and the task of making scores available to performer. Relatively little has dealt with the music itself and the aesthetic criteria we need in order to treat these women the ways we address the male composers of the canon.This talk will discuss music by Kaija Saariaho and other composers.

Register through the link below:

https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/but-what-about-her-music-with-dr-susan-mcclary

Join Boulanger Initiative for a virtual Wikithon editing party! Whether you’re a seasoned editor or a first-timer, help ...
05/13/2026

Join Boulanger Initiative for a virtual Wikithon editing party! Whether you’re a seasoned editor or a first-timer, help expand and improve Wikipedia entries highlighting women’s achievements across history, culture, and the arts. Bring your curiosity, your keyboard, and your love for stories that deserve to be told. This month, we are working on composers whose articles are only a few sentences long, AKA "stubs!"

Expanding the collective understanding of the contributions and impact of gender-marginalized composers is integral to cultivating inclusivity and representation in music. Wikipedia is one of the most accessible platforms when it comes to raising awareness; however, many of the articles present overstate the family and relationships of gender-marginalized composers while severely understating their professional achievements.

Register below: https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/boulanger-initiative-wikithon-stubs

Join the author of Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality for a discussion on how to discuss women composers. Mu...
05/11/2026

Join the author of Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality for a discussion on how to discuss women composers. Much of the scholarship concerning women composers has focused on biography and the task of making scores available to performer. Relatively little has dealt with the music itself and the aesthetic criteria we need in order to treat these women the ways we address the male composers of the canon. In this talk, Dr. Susan McClary will discuss music by Kaija Saariaho and other composers.

Register through the link below:
https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events/but-what-about-her-music-with-dr-susan-mcclary

Join us this summer for multi-day intensives designed to deepen your understanding of why gaps in the canon exist and ho...
05/06/2026

Join us this summer for multi-day intensives designed to deepen your understanding of why gaps in the canon exist and how you can change the industry for the better with programming, performance, and historical preservation.

Attend live or on your own time. All sessions are recorded and available for a month, and you’ll also get curated listening, reading lists, and 20% off BI curricula + merch.
Come ready to rethink what you’ve been taught—and what you’re willing to change.

https://www.boulangerinitiative.org/virtual-events/upcoming-virtual-events

Thank you for joining us at WoCo Fest 2026: Transcend! We’re so grateful for your presence and support in uplifting gend...
04/27/2026

Thank you for joining us at WoCo Fest 2026: Transcend!

We’re so grateful for your presence and support in uplifting gender-marginalized voices in music. If this was your first BI event, we hope it’s just the beginning of your journey with us. There’s still so much work ahead to expand and enrich our collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be, and we hope you’ll continue to be part of it!

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