Music in the Margins: Websites

Composer Alex Shapiro has dedicated a portion of her website to provide a vast list of resources for databases and other programming lists that will step directors out of their comfort zone. Many of the databases listed here already are included in Shapiro’s list, but many more exist as well.

An organization created by Jodie Blackshaw, ColourFULL music is an organization committed to creating a “new normal” regarding concert programming. A ColourFULL program includes programming a variety of composers of varying age, gender, and age. ColourFULL focuses primarily on wind band programs, but other resources are provided as well. Sample programs of ColourFULL ensembles are provided on the website.

Chamber Music America (CMA) is a non-profit organization that serves the chamber music community by providing countless resources for members. CMA has created the Composer Equity Project was created to promote diversity within the chamber music industry. The product of the project was a list/database of composers who identify as ALAANA (African/Black, Latinx, Asian/South Asian, Arab/Middle Eastern, and Native American), as well as women and non-gender conforming individuals.

The Institute for Composer Diversity (ICD) works to encourage the discovery, study, and performance of music written by composers from underrepresented groups. The ICD operates within the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia. The ICD has information on best practices as well as a works database which is a free database including composers of color, different sexual orientation, different gender identities, etc.

This online, subscription-based catalog contains over 9,000 original orchestral works by over 1,600 composers from 24 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean. The database offers a free trial for 30 days, and then a modest annual fee for continued access.

Music by Black Composers (MBC) a program of the Rachel Barton Pinr Foundation. The MBC is dedicated to helping to bring greater diversity to the ranks of classical music performers, composers, and audiences by making the music of Black composers available to everyone, as it is a free database. MBC is an on-going work in progress. MBC also offers a Historic Composers Directory, which includes deceased black composers. MBC also publishes books of music exclusively by black composers from around the world via instrumentation.

Queer Music Heritage began as a radio show and website, having the goal to preserve and share music and subsequently has become a major resource for the history of LGBT music. Each month, the website provides playlists of music, each with pages and pages of information. The search engine on the website searches major websites including Houston LGBT History, Texas Obituary Project, and the Banner Project.

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. Related information includes range, tessitura, piano accompaniment, vocal line, and links to available scores. The analysis is intended for singers from beginning high school through the collegiate level and professional career.

... And We Were Heard gives underrepresented composers a platform to have their music heard. Composers that submit works to … And We Were Heard are matched with top-notch
wind bands and engage in collaborative recording sessions. The resulting audio tracks are hosted on the site along with innovative ideas of how to support diverse voices in music.