InterSchool Orchestras(ISO) Women Composers Concert at Hewitt Theater St. Jean, 150 East 76thStreet, New York, NY 10021 will be on Wednesday February 13that 6:30 PM. The ISO Symphony Orchestra will present a concert dedicated to three outstanding women composers. The program includes Michi for Solo Marimba by world renowned Japanese composer and percussionist Keiko Abe; Flute Concertino, Op. 107, by French romanticist Cecile Chaminade; and first movement of the grand Piano Concerto, Op. 45, by one of the most brilliant American composers and pianists, Amy Beach. ISO musician Isabel Guerrero will solo in the Abe. Soloist Mika Sasaki will also join the ISO Symphony Orchestra and perform in the Beach Piano Concerto.
Composer Keiko Abe Born in 1937 in Tokyo, Keiko Abe is the author of more than 70 compositions for percussion, and her contribution to developing the marimba as a solo instrument is unmatched. Abe’s collaboration with the Yamaha Corporation in the 1960s resulted in expanding the marimba range to five octaves, as well as improving the design and sound quality of this instrument.
Composer Cecile Chaminade (1857 – 1944) Chaminade is the author of more than 400 works. Her musical talent was recognized by George Bizet at the age of 8. After her Carnegie Hall recital in 1908, the New York Evening Postran a piece stating: “Chaminade’s concert confirmed the conviction held by many that while women may someday vote, they will never learn to compose anything worthwhile.All of them seem superficial when they write music.” This is an example of the unjust and discriminatory fate of female artists in a male-dominated world.
Composer Amy Beach (1867 – 1944) Beach completed her first compositions at the age of four and in her teens was already an established concert pianist and made her debut with the Boston Symphony. This bright career was delayed for decades by one condition in Beach’s marriage agreement: she was not allowed to play more than two concerts a year and was forced to give up teaching. As a result, Beach focused all her efforts on composing, and this gave birth to one of the most colorful and masterful pieces of American romantic music such as Mass in E flat Major, Gaelic Symphony, Piano Quintet, and Piano Concerto.
