Founded in 2008 to promote the music of women composers, Feminine Musique has been in demand presenting recital programs in Concert Series, Universities, Art Galleries, Libraries and other venues throughout the continental United States and abroad. They have presented lecture recitals at Conferences and Festivals including the International Conference of Arts and Humanities in Hawaii, Representing Gender in the Performing Arts Conference in The Netherlands, the Women and the 19th Century Lied Conference in Maynooth, Ireland, the Athena Festival for Women Composers in Kentucky, The European Salon: 19th Century Salon Music Conference in Ireland, (where they premiered newly discovered Duets of Josephine Lang and Maria Malibran), the Music by Women Festival at the Mississippi Women’s University and the International Women’s Work in Music Festival in Bangor, Wales UK. They have performed at the Festival Gegen Den Strom in Bad Ems, Germany and at the Georges Sand 40th Anniversary Festival in France.
As a recipient of a 2015 New York Women Composers Grant, Tammy and Korliss presented a program of contemporary women composers at the 2015 Hartford Women Composers Festival. In the 2019-20 Season, Feminine Musique will be heard in various concert venues throughout the New York area, at the University of Calgary, in Canada, and several venues in Germany. Tammy and Korliss have premiered two pieces by American composer Juliana Hall, Roosters and Music Like a Curve of Gold, and can be heard on the soundtrack to Michael Bergman’s film INFLUENCE with music of Stefania DeKenessy. They are currently working with several women composers regarding premiering new works in the future and are collaborating on their first CD featuring Duet Literature by women.
Great Women Composers = Great Composers
For centuries it was the custom to train young women to sing and play a musical instrument as an enhancement to 'femininity' in order to improve their chances of attracting suitable husbands. Women were encouraged to perform and to write music appropriate for the family salon, but they were in most cases forbidden to step outside that world.
Traditionally, composers counted among the 'great' are typically those whose genius led them to tackle the forces of symphony or opera alongside their works for soloists and small ensembles. Historically, the ambitions of women have not been on such a grand scale. Well into the 20th Century, the work of the foremost women composers has been concentrated in the world of chamber music. This means we have a treasure trove of Salon repertoire to explore along with our audience. Contemporary women, making their name as composers of opera, song cycles and larger scale works, are also prevalent in Feminine Musique's programming.