Female Composers and the “Career vs. Love and Children Battle:” Music of Clara Schumann, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Kaija Saariaho This concert is an exploration of the various ways female composers have viewed themselves and their roles within the professional and private realms. The three composers, whose lives span two centuries, were all brilliant, path-breaking musicians. However, Schumann and Crawford Seeger prematurely ended their compositional careers due to the responsibilities of motherhood and pressures from society, whereas Saariaho’s career flourished after becoming a mother. Historically, the tension between having a career vs. having a family, or the “career vs. love and children battle,” as Crawford Seeger put it, has been a double bind imposed on women by men and society at large. Larger cultural trends within an evolving yet patriarchal society have no doubt influenced the outcomes of this conflict. This recital examines the three composers’ unique relationships with their own careers and how they each navigated the complexities of being women, mothers, and composers. —Roan Ma
ROAN MA is a multi-faceted musician passionate about creating space within the classical music world where diverse voices are represented. During the past several years, her work has focused on rediscovering music and musicians obscured by time and social constrictions, as well as introducing contemporary repertoire. Roan received her BM and MM degrees in violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music, graduating from her Masters with the 2018 Hugo Kortschak Commencement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chamber Music. She then received her Master of Music Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2020. Currently, Roan is pursuing a DMA in violin performance at the University of Toronto.
With Max Ardito, electronics.
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