The Reading List: Essential Books for Advocacy, Equity, and Wellbeing in Classical Music

Apr 3

by Editor, Katie A. Berglof

The following titles have been selected to support musicians, scholars, advocates, and curious readers who wish to deepen their understanding of the forces shaping classical music today. Organized by theme, this list spans gender equity, trailblazing women in music history, representation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the field, musician health and wellbeing, and workplace rights.

We believe that knowledge is foundational to advocacy, and that literature connecting these subjects is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of this art form. We will continue to update this list as new voices and perspectives emerge.

I. Gender Equality in the Music Industry

Towards Gender Equality in the Music Industry: Education, Practice and Strategies for Change By Catherine Strong and Sarah Raine

This open access book uses an industry-based approach to examine why gender imbalance has proven so hard to shift, and explores strategies being adopted to bring about meaningful change for women and gender-diverse people in music. It focuses on music education, case studies from the industry, and activist spaces.
https://www.amazon.com/Towards-Gender-Equality-Music-Industry/dp/1501383221

II. Women in Classical Music: Trailblazers and History

The World of Women in Classical Music By Anne K. Gray

Gray covers women composers from ancient times through the twentieth century, as well as conductors, performers, musicologists, and women in the business of music, including managers, recording company owners, agents, and philanthropists.
https://www.amazon.com/World-Women-Classical-Music/dp/1599753200

Women Performing Music: The Emergence of American Women as Classical Instrumentalists and Conductors By Beth Abelson Macleod

This book offers detailed profiles of three remarkable musicians: Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler, virtuoso pianist and mother; Ethel Leginska, pianist, conductor, and 1920s "new woman"; and Antonia Brico, conductor and transitional figure to the late twentieth century. It also contrasts the experiences of women classical musicians in the late nineteenth and late twentieth centuries.
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Performing-Music-Instrumentalists-Conductors/dp/0786409045

Women Composers of Classical Music: 369 Biographies from 1550 into the 20th Century By Mary F. McVicker
This book provides access to both well-known and obscure women composers, arranged chronologically by era and divided by country, with biographical sketches and descriptions of each composer's body of work. It also includes an extensive timeline of operatic works by female composers.
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Composers-Classical-Music-Biographies/dp/0786443979

The Cambridge Companion to Women in Music since 1900 Edited by Various Scholars, Cambridge University Press
This companion covers women in classical composition across multiple historical periods, women conductors from the early twentieth century through the present, soloists and divas, women in popular music, music technology, and women's wider work in music.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-women-in-music-since-1900/

Nadia Boulanger and Her World Edited by Various Scholars, Princeton University Press
This book takes us from a time in the late nineteenth century when many careers in music were almost entirely closed to women, to the moment in the late twentieth century when those careers were becoming a reality, centering on one of the most iconic figures in twentieth-century music.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691182582/nadia-boulanger-and-her-world

Sticking It Out: From Juilliard to the Orchestra Pit, A Percussionist's Memoir By Patti Niemi
A memoir recounting the author's journey through Juilliard and into a professional orchestra career, including her firsthand experience with sexual harassment by a teacher, severe performance anxiety, and the fierce commitment required to succeed in classical music. This title also appears in the Musician Rights section below.
https://www.amazon.com/Sticking-Out-Juilliard-Orchestra-Percussionists/dp/1770412735

III. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Music

Black Voices in Classical Music

From Our Eyes and Ears: Writings by Musicians of Color, Volume 1: Black Voices By Dr. Lorin Green and LaVonna Wright
This narrative anthology centers writings by musicians of color who chose to pursue music as a career in the western classical music field. The writings speak to how being a person of color within this field has affected them and shine a light on the prejudice, stigmas, and stereotypes facing musicians of color. The featured writings show that the challenges musicians of color face are common and systemic, with the hope of making the western classical music field a more inclusive and equitable space for all.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-our-eyes-and-ears-lorin-green/1145674639

The Heart of a Woman: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price By Rae Linda Brown
This award-winning book is the first-ever biography of Florence B. Price, the first African American woman to gain national recognition for her works, whose career spanned both the Harlem and Chicago Renaissances. Through interviews and archival research, it illuminates Price's major works while exploring the considerable depth of her achievement.
https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Woman-Music-Florence-American/dp/0252085108

From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music By Helen Walker-Hill
An examination of the history and scope of musical composition by African-American women, focusing on the implications of race, gender, and class for their musical creativity.
https://www.amazon.com/Spirituals-Symphonies-African-American-Composers-Greenwood/dp/0313325081

Black Women in American Bands and Orchestras By D. Antoinette Handy
Profiles of Black women who performed or were affiliated with orchestras and bands in the United States, spanning a wide range of eras and ensemble types.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Women-American-Bands-Orchestras/dp/0810832216

Black Women and Music: More Than the Blues Edited by Eileen M. Hayes and Linda F. Williams
The first interdisciplinary volume to address Black women's negotiation of race and gender in African American music, exploring how African American women musicians of the twentieth century engaged in social activism and worked within and against feminist movements and the music industry at large.
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Women-Music-African-Perspective/dp/0252074262

And So I Sing: African-American Divas of Opera and Concert By Rosalyn M. Story
This book profiles 32 singers, including biographies of Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, and Grace Bumbry, documenting their trailblazing careers across opera and the concert stage.
https://www.amazon.com/So-Sing-African-American-Divas-Concert/dp/0446391735

Where Are All The Black Female Composers? By Nathan Holder
This illustrated book takes readers on a musical journey to discover Black women composers from the last 150 years, including Nora Holt, Errollyn Wallen, and Florence Price, and features over 90 Black female classical composers.
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Are-Black-Female-Composers/dp/1839132361

Latina and Latin American Composers

Latin American Classical Composers: A Biographical Dictionary, Third Edition Edited by Martha Furman Schleifer and Gary Galván
Now in its third edition, this is the singular English-language resource for biographical information on over 2,300 composers from Central and South America and the Hispanic Caribbean, including an index of women composers of Latin America. An essential reference for anyone exploring this repertoire.
https://www.amazon.com/Latin-American-Classical-Composers-Biographical/dp/081088870X

Anthology of Latin American and Iberian Art Songs by Women Composers Edited by Patricia Caicedo
This essential collection features 23 art songs for voice and piano in Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese by five remarkable women composers from Argentina, Brazil, Catalunya, Cuba, and Colombia, with a bilingual introductory study on the composers and poets, poetry translations, and IPA transcriptions.
https://www.amazon.com/Anthology-American-Iberian-Composers-Collection/dp/1733903550

Indigenous and Native American Musicians

Rise Up!: Indigenous Music in North America By Craig Harris
Music historian Craig Harris explores more than five hundred years of Indigenous history, religion, and cultural evolution. Going well beyond powwow drums and wooden flutes, Indigenous music is shown to intersect with rock, blues, jazz, folk, reggae, hip-hop, classical music, and more, combining deep research with personal stories by nearly four dozen award-winning Indigenous musicians.
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Up-Indigenous-Music-America/dp/1496236157

Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies By Dylan Robinson (xwélméxw/Stó:lō)
A multi-award-winning critical response to the "whiteness of sound studies," this groundbreaking book considers listening from both Indigenous and settler colonial perspectives. With case studies on Indigenous participation in classical music, musicals, and popular music, it examines structures of inclusion that reinforce Western musical values and offers powerful examples of Indigenous sovereignty in performance and art.
https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Listening-Resonant-Indigenous-Americas/dp/1517907683

Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America By Elaine Keillor, Tim Archambault, and John M.H. Kelly
A one-stop reference resource for the vast variety of musical expressions of the First Peoples' cultures of North America, both past and present, including entries on how ethnomusicologists with Native American heritage are revolutionizing approaches to the discipline, and how musicians with First Peoples' heritage are influencing modern musical forms including classical music, orchestral string playing, gospel, and hip hop.
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Native-American-Music-North/dp/031333054X

Music and Modernity Among First Peoples of North America Edited by Victoria Lindsay Levine and Dylan Robinson
A collaboration between Indigenous and settler scholars from Canada and the United States, this volume explores the intersections between music, modernity, and Indigeneity, from hip-hop to powwow, to Native classical and experimental music, working from the premise that multiple modernities exist for Indigenous peoples and seeking to decolonize the study of Native American and First Nations music.
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Modernity-Among-First-Peoples/dp/0252082729

IV. Musician Health and Wellbeing

Playing (Less) Hurt: An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians By Janet Horvath
A comprehensive, well-organized resource for a variety of physical issues relating to music performance, with helpful self-assessment charts for determining baseline pain, discomfort, and anxiety levels.
https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Less-Hurt-Injury-Prevention/dp/1423488466

Fit as a Fiddle: The Musician's Guide to Playing Healthy By William J. Dawson
A series of essays written by the president of the Performing Arts Medical Association, a physician and therapist specializing in musician injuries, treatment, and rehabilitation, covering anatomy, biomechanics, overuse syndrome, and recovery.
https://www.amazon.com/Fit-Fiddle-Musicians-Guide-Playing/dp/1578866847

The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness By Gerald Klickstein
A comprehensive book on improving the various facets of being a performing musician, covering practice techniques, performance anxiety, and dealing with the threat of repetitive stress injuries.
https://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Way-Guide-Practice-Performance/dp/0195325621

The Musician's Body: A Maintenance Manual for Peak Performance By Dr. Jaume Rosset i Llobet and George Odam
This illustrated book aims to help musicians understand how and why their bodies function during performance, covering injury prevention, ergonomics, risk factors, posture, breathing, diet, and accommodation of professional needs in daily life.
https://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Body-Maintenance-Manual-Performance/dp/1574671871

The Musician's Mind: Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Age of Brain Science By Lynn Helding
This book presents discoveries illuminating how musicians can optimize their mental wellbeing and cognitive abilities, and is an inspiring call for artists to promote emotion and empathy as cornerstones of their practice.
https://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Mind-Teaching-Learning-Performance/dp/1538109956

The Biology of Musical Performance and Performance-Related Injury By Alan Watson
An insightful book on the anatomical aspects of music-making that explains posture, limb movements, breathing, embouchure, the brain, and stress, assuming no prior scientific knowledge, with a dedicated chapter on the causes of performance-related injuries and how to avoid them.
https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Musical-Performance-Performance-Related-Injury/dp/0810862867

V. Musician Rights, Harassment, and the Music Workplace

Sticking It Out: From Juilliard to the Orchestra Pit, A Percussionist's Memoir By Patti Niemi
Niemi's memoir chronicles the harassment and abuse she endured at the hands of her percussion teacher, and her ultimately triumphant struggle to continue her career in classical music. This title also appears in the Women in Classical Music section above, as it speaks equally to the experiences of trailblazing women in the field.
https://www.amazon.com/Sticking-Out-Juilliard-Orchestra-Percussionists/dp/1770412735

A Note from the Editor

On Dr. Lorin Green: Dr. Green is based in Seattle and currently serves as Community Relations Manager of the Seattle Symphony, making her work a particularly meaningful local connection for the Unbound Symphony community. She currently is a committee member on Unbound Symphony’s artistic planning committee.

On the Musician Rights section: The sexual harassment and musician rights category currently has more coverage in investigative journalism than in full-length published books. We will supplement this section with linked articles in the future or in it’s own separate publication, including the Washington Post's landmark 2018 investigation into harassment in classical music.

On Latina and Latin American representation: English-language books specifically centered on women composers from Latin America and the Caribbean remain relatively sparse. The Caicedo anthology and Schleifer dictionary are the strongest currently available titles. We are actively watching for new releases as this area of scholarship continues to grow.

On Indigenous voices in publishing: The Indigenous music category reflects a broader reality in that more ethnomusicology-leaning texts exist than first-person memoirs or narratives by Indigenous authors. The Robinson and Harris titles both center Indigenous voices meaningfully within this landscape. We are committed to updating this list as more works become available.

Katie Berglof