by Mike Telin
Since 2021, Local 4 Music Fund’s She Scores project has been providing a platform for underrepresented composers who, despite their immense talents, face barriers to having their works performed. And what began with performances of works by 16 composers has now blossomed into a four-concert series featuring works by 31 living composers who identify as female or nonbinary. “We have over 70 people involved in the festival this year,” Local 4 Music Fund executive director Amber Rogers said during a telephone interview.
The fourth edition of She Scores runs May 30 – June 2 at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall, with performances at 7:00 Thursday-Saturday and 4:00 on Sunday. Emily Laurance will present a pre-concert lecture one hour prior to each performance. All concerts are free. Click here to read bios of the composers and performers.
“In the past, the call for scores only went out to composers in Ohio. This year we added Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and West Virginia. And we have composers from every one of those states represented in the programming,” Rogers said, adding that the jury reviewed around 80 submissions, all evaluated anonymously — the jury didn’t know who wrote what, or what their backgrounds were.
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