Still in the Back of the Bus

Kudos to Mark Swed for his insightful article on the plight of women composers (“Defiant Women Who Deserve a Hearing,” Feb. 11). We are the last bastion of the glass ceiling. Even female conductors (bless them) are more likely to get recognition.

Swed clearly identifies some of the major issues, to which I would add the continuing problem of exposure. As a girl, I saw no female composers’ names on musical programs. In high school, I studied composition in Bernard Heiden’s classes at Indiana University. I was the only female. The type of atonal music I was expected to compose went against my vocal/melodic grain. Discouraged, I studied voice and music history and never once heard a female composer mentioned in any of my classes. I ceased composing until the age of 50.

But I found out, even with commissions and grants, that really little has changed. In order to get recognition, most women composers in this country are practically required to be attached to a university for recognition and the performance of their works. Not so for the men.

The cycle is a vicious and pernicious one, stemming from old boys’ narcissism, lack of encouragement and de facto exclusion from exposure. For the last 54 years, my hometown of Ojai has largely ignored women in its festival programming. Of the 1,500-plus symphonies played in the U.S. in 1999, only three were by women.

Unless we have regulations like Title IX in sports, I fear women will not get heard as they deserve. We need a Rosa Parks in our bus.

NAOMI STEPHAN

Ojai