I've been reading the blogs at Sequenza 21-- a site devoted to new music.

Only two of the ten bloggers are women, and they do not post many entries. Only one of the seven editors is a woman. (That makes the overall ratio 15 to 2.) The tone and perspective of the site is overwhelming male (as if that were anything unusual in new music.)

I was thinking that maybe the IAWM should start a blog site for a revolving set of women composers. There are so many women who compose, including a number who are very well-known, who I think a lot of people would really like to hear from now and then. Maybe there could be about five bloggers at a time, with the line-up changing maybe once a month or so. What would people like Tania Leon, Judith Shatin, Diane Thome, Anne LeBaron, Annie Gosfield, Eve Beglarian, and Kitty Brazelton have to say in an informal blogging sort of way? And what about including some scholars who focus on women in music like Ellie Hisama, Susanne Cusick and Ellen Koskoff? One could also include some women who are still students so that their perspectives could also be given voice.

Even if the participants only made two or three entries for the month, it would still be very interesting. At the very least, it could give people a better sense of who they are. Blogs can encourage people to write, because they do not have to be formal like articles, the entries can be short (or long,) and one can chat about whatever happens to be on their mind.

I think the blogs would draw many readers in the new music world, and also help raise the profile of women in music and the issues that concern them. I hope that perhaps the Board and Advocacy Committee will give this some thought.

William Osborne
100260.243@compuserve.com
http://www.osborne-conant.org

William Osborne makes a fine point that more women should participate in the excellent blog, Sequenza 21. I would like to point out that the numbers he cites of just three female participants are mistakenly low; on the front page alone you can count the names of seven of us--about a third of everyone--and many more women throw in their two cents as they respond to posts which pique their interest. A number of male S21 bloggers have bemoaned the paucity of women in this wonderful little musical tide pool, and S21's editor, Jerry Bowles, has tried to be more aggressive in inviting women to participate.

So, to that end, I'd like to invite any of my female IAWM colleagues to join me, Beth Anderson, Elodie Lauten, Deborah Kravetz, Stefanie Lubkowski, Christina Fong, Carmen Helena T�llez and all the other women who enjoy this good-spirited exchange of ideas about music and life, to log on to http://www.sequenza21.com (which just won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Internet Award) and check out the Composers Forum, among its many other pages. All voices are welcome, and you might even hear from Jerry asking whether you'd be interested in becoming more involved.

Cheers,
Alex Shapiro