What is a composer? What does a composer look like? Where do they come from? These are some questions a teacher might ask their students in any K-5 general music classroom. But what picture do we paint for students about composer identity with the listening repertoire we expose them to? photo credit: Lucas Lenzi So many people still picture a white man in a puffy wig and maybe a ruffled shirt when they think of a ‘composer’. Are we as music educators doing enough to counteract this image? If not, what resources can help us to do so? Often, elementary listening resources are exclusively devoted to male composers or include only one or two token women composers. Our elementary learners (future musicians and arts supporters) are left to assume that there are few if any women composers in our collective canon. Many of us grew up believing this myth as well, but the good news is- it is untrue! There are many, many outstanding women composers, past and present, that we can and sh
Music Ed, Fun with Composers, Feminist Antics