Women Composers Festival of Hartford
2021 Virtual Festival

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for the 2021 Virtual Women Composers Festival of Hartford on March 19th and 20th. This was the first virtual Festival in our 20-year history, and through technology, we were able to reach even more people throughout the globe who love music and who want to support music created by women.

String Quartet No. 7:
dust motes floating in light

by Composer-in-Residence Melika M. Fitzhugh, as premiered by Ensemble-in-Residence, the Craft Ensemble, during the 2021 Virtual Festival. Click here for complete program notes, as well as information about our 2021 Composer- and Ensemble-in-Residence.

Melika M. Fitzhugh:
String Quartet No. 7: dust motes floating in light

Craft Ensemble:
Amy Sims and Colleen Brannen, violin
Amelia Hollander Ames, viola
Velleda Miragias, cello

We recognized that so many of you, like the musicians and composers you met during this Festival, had suffered financial hardship as a result of the global pandemic that has consumed our lives for the past year. For this reason, for the first time, we opted to make this Festival free and accessible to all.

For those who are financially able to do so, we encourage you to make a tax-deductible donation. The suggested minimum donation is $25.00, but no amount is too small – or too large – and is deeply appreciated. Your donations help us to continue our mission to showcase the work of women composers throughout the world.

2021 Virtual Festival Events:

Festival Welcome and Music Marathon – Friday, March 19th, 7:30pm
featured performances by Olivia Adele Adams, Katey J. Halbert, The Whistling Hens, Manaka Matsumoto, Julia Mortyakova, Jihwon Na, and Yongyun Zhang

Scholarly Symposium – Saturday, March 20th, 5pm
featured presentations by Patricia R. Abreu, Olivia Adele Adams, Janet Jacobson, and Kathryn Woodard

Student Composition Reading – Saturday, March 20th, 5pm
featued The Craft Ensemble reading works by Leigh Anne Robichaux, Sarah Marze, and Ky Nam Nguyen, introduced by Jessica Rudman

Festival Profiles: Past and Present – Saturday, March 20th, 5pm
featured Composers-in Residence, Andrea Clearfield (2014), Tawnie Olson (2018), Judith Shatin (2012), and Melika M. Fitzhugh (2021)

The Craft Ensemble Concert – Saturday, March 20th, 7:30pm
featured Winning Compositions by Ariel Friedman, Judith Lang Zaimont, and SiHyun Uhm, the premiere of Composer-In-Residence Melika M. Fitzhugh’s “dust motes floating in light,” and additional works by Elizabeth Maconchy and Jessie Montgomery

Please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel and liking our Facebook and Instagram pages to enjoy future content celebrating the works and accomplishments of past, present, and future women composers.