Women in Electroacoustics

by Elainie Lillios

Welcome to the second issue of eContact! devoted to Women in Electroacoustics. Although the percentage of women actively composing electroacoustic music is small, they continue to be an active force in the world of creating music using technology.

In March, 1999, I curated and presented two concerts of electroacoustic music by women composers at the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, in celebration of Women's History Month. Response to the call for participation was overwhelming, with over 150 works received from more than 60 women composers from 8 countries around the world! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the wide variety of works submitted, and selection for the two concerts was difficult. Unfortunately as is the case with such large contributions, many great pieces did not make final programming due to time constraints, equipment availability, or technical resources.

You are invited to experience a cross-section of these works, as well as additional works by contemporary women composers. The pieces in this eContact! were written over the last twenty years, and exhibit great stylistic diversity. The composers represented range from students, to freelance composers, and also include a few women pioneers in the field of electroacoustic composition.

I hope you enjoy this sonic sampling of Women in Electroacoustics.

Elainie Lillios
Denton, Texas
April 2000