Classics For Kids Celebrates Women's History Month!
Classics for Kids®, a project of 90.9 WGUC Cincinnati, introduces classical music and its composers to a younger audience through a weekly radio show/podcast, and a free interactive website. The project, now celebrating its 20th year on the air, uses engaging stories to make classical composers and their music come alive for children, parents, and grandparents. The shows are written, hosted, and produced by classical music broadcaster Naomi Lewin. In a departure from the show’s normal format, featuring one composer each month, the Classics for Kids® programs airing this March celebrate the role of women in classical music.
WOMEN IN HISTORY AND CLASSICAL MUSIC
How women in world history – Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II, Aphra Behn, Joan of Arc, Emmeline Pankhurst, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, and Grace Hopper – inspired classical music compositions.
WOMEN COMPOSERS OF THE PAST
Though many societies either forbade or looked down on women who wanted to be composers, many persevered. This show highlights Francesca Caccini, Élizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Louise Farrenc, Cécile Chaminade, Germaine Tailleferre, Hildegard von Bingen, Marianna Martines, Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, Florence Price, and Queen Lili’oukalani.
CONTEMPORARY WOMEN COMPOSERS
There are many women composers these days, and this program introduces some of them: Caroline Shaw, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Anna Þhorvaldsdóttir, Lera Auerbach, Kaija Saariaho, Chen Yi, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Tania León.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A CONDUCTOR?
A program featuring acclaimed conductor JoAnn Falletta, who talks about her early love of music, how seeing her first symphony concert inspired her to become a conductor, and all the listening and preparation that goes into being successful at her job.
GREAT WOMEN PERFORMERS
Through the centuries, there have been exceptional female performers – on the largest stages of the world, and in smaller, more intimate settings. They include Clara Wieck Schumann, Maria Theresia von Paradies, Nadia Boulanger, Dame Myra Hess, Rebecca Clarke, Jacqueline Du Pré, Evelyn Glennie, Maria Callas, Marian Anderson, and Leontyne Price.
Classics for Kids® airs on radio stations across the country, and can be downloaded as a podcast. All programs, plus a variety of interactive games, resources for parents, and free lesson plans for teachers are online at classicsforkids.com.
