Women’s History Month

As Principal Flute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1952-1990, Doriot Anthony Dwyer was one of the first women to hold a principal seat in a major American orchestra. (She was a distant relative of suffragette Susan B. Anthony.) Today’s Beautiful Music features Doriot Anthony Dwyer with pianist Jesus Maria Sanroma playing the Flute Sonata […]

March is Women’s History Month, and we’re reaching back to the 12th century today with music by one of the earliest documented women composers. Hildegard von Bingen was born in 1179, and was educated in a Benedictine cloister. She eventually began living a religious life, and ultimately became an Abbess. Today’s Beautiful Music is a

I learned about the French composer Mel Bonis only a few years ago when I had the opportunity to perform some of her music with friends. Mel Bonis lived from 1858-1937, which is why it was advantageous to use the name “Mel” instead of her full name Melanie. She started piano lessons as a young

Hanneke von Proosdij is a multi-talented musician — an award-winning music director, conductor, keyboard and recorder player, and composer. She is co-director of the Bay Area ensemble Voices of Music. Today’s Beautiful Music features Hanneke von Proosdij as one of the instrumentalists (recorder) with her group performing a work she composed: Musical Crossroads. The performance

Sometime in the early 17th century there was a French lute player and composer who went by “Mademoiselle Bocquet” … it’s not even certain whether her first name was Anne or Marguerite. Anecdotally, this mystery musician was said to be a phenomenally talented lutenist. Today’s Beautiful Music features guitarist Annette Kruisbrink playing some of Mademoiselle

I recently had the pleasure and honor of interviewing pianist Dr. Rochelle Sennet (there’s a link below to our conversation) and she mentioned a composer whose name was new to me. Amanda Aldridge was a British opera singer and teacher who also composed music using the pen name Montague Ring. She lived from 1886-1936, and

Oksana Lyniv is an award-winning Ukrainian conductor. Early in her career, the Dresden University graduate was assistant to the chief conductor of the Lviv National Academy Opera and Ballet Theatre before becoming permanent guest conductor of the Leopolis Chamber Symphony Orchestra in 2003. Subsequently she held positions with Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater,

Today’s radio broadcast of Sunday Baroque is the 2nd of our two-part Bach Birthday Bash. So today’s Beautiful Music features some iconic music by Johann Sebastian Bach. Cellist Ophélie Gaillard plays Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. from her 2011 recording. Organist Liene Andreta Kalnciema plays Bach’s famously scary Toccata and Fugue in d minor

17th century Italian musician and nun Isabella Leonarda wrote at least 200 compositions, and was the first woman to compose sonatas for violin and basso continuo. In addition to composing more than 200 works. She was 16 when she entered the convent in her hometown of Novara, and she stayed there for the rest of

Valérie Sainte-Agathe is the Chorale Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.. The Martinique native earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Universite Paul Valery in Montpellier, and her Diplome d’Etudes Musicales in Piano, Chamber Music and Theory from the Montpellier Conservatory. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Management from the University