Call for Papers: Women in Music since 1913 Symposium Liverpool Hope University, 21 March 2015

Due to Lili Boulanger’s historic triumph in the Prix de Rome competition, 1913 is often regarded as a watershed year in the history of Women in Music. A 19-year-old woman winning France’s most prestigious composition award symbolises women’s move from the private musical realm to the professional arena. Of course Boulanger’s achievement is part of a much wider set of trends, as the last century has seen the development of greater opportunities for women musicians than ever before. Conversely, the argument has been made that modernist compositional strategies were levied as a musical backlash against first-wave feminist progress in the early decades of the twentieth century, and many female music students still express some anxiety about aspirations to a compositional career in ways that suggest there is much progress left to be made. In the wake of the First-World-War centenary commemorations (another historical landmark highlighting complex developments in the struggle for and against gender equality), 2015 is a timely moment to critically consider the changing landscape of Women in Music since 1913.
We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on any musical genre or practice which may address, but need not be limited to, the following themes: Composing in Lili Boulanger’s wake / Women’s music education in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries / The impact of feminist politics/the Women’s Liberation Movement on women in Music
Women in composition / Women in performance / Women and music technology / The representation of women in music since 1913 / Women in popular music / Comparative views of women and men in music / Comparative issues for trans and cis women in music/as musicians

Proposals for 20-minute papers or suggestions for panels of four speakers (2h) should be sent as abstracts of not more than 300 words to ku.ca1743928653.epoh1743928653@cisu1743928653mnine1743928653mow1743928653 by Friday 9 January 2015. All applicants will be informed of the outcome by early February 2015.