Music is the most important coordinating, synchronizing cultural force on earth. All societies recognize and respect the power of music. Music is used in the regulation of society in the service of the church, state and their educational institutions. Music is a basic tool of corporations in bringing their products to the market place. Music is also entertaining. However music has many other functions and is a crucial mode of thought. Creative music - or music that is newly composed or improvised can influence change by challenging habitual thought patterns. Change provokes further thought and dialogue. Thought and change of habit and dialogue brings resistance to out moded social institutions. Thus creative music is often disparaged by threatened conservative interests.

The most positive function of music at this time could be for healing separations that cloud the spirit of humanity. For that reason alone the creative input of women who are the traditional healers (like the ones burned at the stake in the 1600s) is more than ever needed. The participation of women in music throughout the history of world cultures has always been to assist rites of passage including birth, coming of age, marriage and death. Women's role as respected keeper of these rites has been suppressed in favor of art music composed by men. The original function of art music was to entertain and aggrandize the aristocracy in countries such as Austria, Italy and others. How does art music function in our society today, what is it's value and to whom? How could art music composed by both women and men function in new ways?

Changing a paradigm is a rite of passage. The paradigm of exclusion will not change without the energy and participation of women whether it is to compose and participate in art music or any other kind of music. Women really must assume responsibility and take charge of this change. Our Western culture is suffering from the lack of spirit from music traditionally provided by women. It is not enough for women to buy into art music - no matter how attractive it is - and only becoming accomplished in the techniques and forms created and taught by men; It also could be wise to avoid participating in the competitive and sometimes cut throat careerism that often goes with the field. The musical heroine of the millennium must discover her own inner voice and seek out her own path in music. She must also answer the call of the lost music of women across the ages. Out of the united inner voices of many women will come the music of the millennium - the music that we need to find balance and harmonious relationships in our society. To Achieve balance and harmony it will be necessary to gather together, learn and promote high level team work and strategy, network with each other, support each other and move toward healing the separation that so blatantly continues to exist - the separation of women from each other, from men and from the creative process and power of music. Creativity is a birth right for all human beings.

Women of many world cultures other than Western culture have created music from the earliest known times. Women were treated with respect as priestess - keepers of rites and the makers of music for such rites. Women were more than likely the first musicians singing lullabies to infants and wailing in grief for loved ones. Although some women composers through the centuries have found their voices - such as Hildegard of Bingen (a 900 year anniversary celebration of Hildegard is now under way) - women of Western culture have particularly been discouraged from composing art music. Women's works have been disrespected, disparaged, suppressed or forgotten and excluded from performances and publication. With the destruction of Sappho's work women were denied a model composer at the dawn of Western culture.

2000 years have elapsed since Paul's edict in the bible proclaiming that women were to keep silent in the church: By extension women were also to keep silent in all public institutions of the patriarchy.. Women's silence since then has been cruelly enforced by genocide, witch burning, other murders, and many physical abuses such as rape, whippings, beatings, clitoridectomy and foot binding - psychological harrassments such as ridicule, assignment to demeaning tasks, servile positions, poverty, denial of education and ownership of property, treatment as chattel, slavery and above all denial of equality and freedom of choice. The residue in the collective mind of women from such treatment and the de facto continuance of physical and psychological abuse to this day has to be a considerable force in womens' fear to speak up and take charge of their lives and creativity. Though the intellectual paradigm - concerning the freedom of women to participate actively in public life and music -has changed and taken a more positive direction in our time the fear remaining in the collective unconscious of women must be addressed and healed in order for real change at the emotional and feeling level to take place in our culture.

From the 18th century onward to this day aristocratic iconography and patriarchal semiotics has deeply informed the creation and perception of western art music. The composition of art music has been the exclusive territory of men. Until recent times women have hesitated or feared to claim the title of composer for themselves even if they were creating music. The whole system of patronage for composers, performance, publication and dissemination of music grew out of the first Viennese school. Women were excluded from this school. A male musical ghetto of "great" men was established. Though the audience was extended to the bougouesie the second Viennese school continued the exclusion. Women were assigned to the support group of patronage and adoration. Contemporary male attitudes toward women have reinforced the dominance of Paul's edict. For example here is a quotation from composer Alban Berg in a letter to Arnold Schönberg concerning Alma Mahler - composer, widow of Gustave Mahler and principal collector for the Schönberg fund:

"---I beg you dear Herr Schonberg, not to take Frau Mahler's action too seriously. At bottom she knows - as far as a woman can comprehend it at all - who you are and she surely desires that these differences be cleared away. It's nothing but capriciousness, born of the moodiness of a woman used to dispensing favor and disfavor according to momentary caprice and whim. For love to turn to hate and hate to love, creatures like that need no greater reason than we need to decide between a light and dark tie. Maybe that is what Weinerger calls the amorality of woman. That would also explain everything else: the playful, unscrupulous ability of one and the same creature to adapt herself to the morality of a Mahler and the immorality of a Karpath ---" (pg 243 The Berg-Schönberg Correspondence -ed. Brand, Hailey and Harris - Norton)

None of the letters in the Berg-Shönberg Correspondence reveal that Alma Mahler was also a composer. Kept in the shadow of her famous husband the many references in the letters, including Berg's disrespectful comments about her and women in general, are all about Alma Mahler's role as principal supporter of the patronage of Arnold Schönberg. Women were expected to take such roles and some times forced to do so by their circumstances and the importuning of men such as Berg.

Few women have managed to break their silence as composers without suffering ridicule, harrassment and lack of support. It takes continual effort to overcome the societal obstacles faced by women and indeed all excluded groups. As composers our situation has only slightly improved in our time. It will be necessary to have Festivals such as Frau Musika (nova) and much more to show the strength and vitality of women contributing to the creation of music. Women need to gather together to make music, to celebrate each other's work, to make strategies for change in their relationship to music and to help each other heal the remaining fears left over from 2000 years of abuse. It will be necessary to continue to do this until women are completely integrated into the field of music at all levels.

The business of music has not changed enough and now it must change much more rapidly if we are to enjoy the fruits of our struggle in our life time. Despite the Women's Movement and the Civil Rights Movement the male ghetto still prevails in music and is supported by the existing infra structure of agents, managers, presenters, publishers, producers and patronage. Programs of art music still consist mainly of white men composers. The media rarely publishes features in support of women composers. Women's music is not a part of any standard repetoire for established musical organizations. Music educators rarely include materials about women composers in their writings and teaching, performers do not include women's music in their repetoire, nor do they teach their students with music written by women. There are exceptions of course such as the many musicologists who have adopted a feminist platform for their work. Those who work with enlightened attitudes concerning women in music must be recognized, noted and emulated.

Change is needed at the grass roots, fundamental level - in teaching, performing. creating, theorizing, historicizing and journalizing about music. Nothing less than a complete change in the field of music as a whole is necessary for equanimous representation. Women must overcome fears, find their voices and break the silence imposed and sustained from the time of Paul's edict. They must find the strength, will and compassion to help each other join together to organize changes to the whole field of music. Music can not go on as a lop sided affair belonging only to men. As music changes so will the world as we know it. We need a balanced society with equal representation for both women and men and support for all composers and musicians..

Recommendations for how you can help to break the silence and change the paradigm of exclusiveness in music:

If you are a performer always play music by women on your programs as well as music by men. Make your repetoire list available to others and teach your students to play music by women. Complain if contest repetoire does not include music written by women.

If you are a private music teacher be sure that you have teaching materials written by women. The collective power of private music teachers is enormous.

If you are a professor include women composers in your research and request your libraries to order publications of music by women. Include women's works in your theoretical analyses and writings.

If you are a journalist write about the music of women. Keep a list of women who create music in your community or city. Find a way to publish the list or get it on the INTERNET World Wide Web and link it to other such sites. (See http://www.mills.edu/SHOWCASE/F97/MUA16/mus16.homepage.html)

If you are a musiclogist rewrite music history to include women. Devote your research to women in music.

If you are an interested listener by all means listen to music by women. Write letters to the musical organizations that you patronize requesting that they commission and perform music by women.

If you are a patron commission works by women.

If you are a composer give priority to community building over career building. Find ways to collaborate, serve the field and make it good for your colleagues as well as yourself. Question your relationship to the form of music you are writing. Are you listening to your own inner voice and answering it's call? Are you expressing what you need to express or what you have been taught to express by the canon of men's musical establishment? Of what value is the technique and form you have learned to the expression of what you feel and hear as your own voice in music? How would you like for your music to function in your community? In the world?

All could join the International Alliance for Women in Music to receive current information on all aspects of women in relationship with music, news of performances, composition and musicology and for participation in initiatives to promote more performances and creation of music by women. http://www.iawm.nicanor.acu.edu or to subscribe to the IAWM list send a message to IAWM_request@nicanor.acu.edu message with SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.

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Pauline Oliveros