WOMEN OF DISTINCTION INITIATIVE
After decades of programming that included works by women composers, the Women Composers Project was formalized in 2013 and then expanded in 2018 to include conductors and other artistic roles.
Our Women of Distinction Initiative features women engaged in various facets of the classical music industry. This program is supported by many contributors within the Pro Musica community.
2022–23 Season
MEI-ANN CHEN
conductor
is music director of the MacArthur Award–winning and GRAMMY-nominated Chicago Sinfonietta, and was named one of Musical America’s Top 30 Influencers (2015). She is conducting the Pro Musica Orchestra for our Spring Orchestra Concerts, March 11–12.
JENNIFER HIGDON
composer
is featured on our Spring Orchestra Concerts, March 11–12. She has won a Pulitzer Prize (2010), three GRAMMY awards (2010, 2018, 2020), and the International Opera Award (Cold Mountain, 2016).
ZOE LESSER
stage director
is a producer, manager, and choreographer with performing arts organizations in Santa Fe, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. She is staging our performances of Bach’s Coffee Cantata on December 23 and 24.
SARAH IOANNIDES
conductor
for our Winter Orchestra Concerts, January 28–29. Of Greek and Scottish ancestry, she is an eighth-generation violinist, composer, and conductor, and is currently music director of Symphony Tacoma.
JESSIE MONTGOMERY
composer
is featured on our Season Opening Orchestra Concerts, September 24–25. She was included in the New York Philharmonic’s Project 19, marking the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting equal voting rights to women.
CAROL REDMAN
music director
of Santa Fe Pro Musica, and co-founder along with her husband Thomas O’Connor. During her 40+ year tenure with this organization, she has done just about everything from principal flutist to music librarian, administrator, stage manager, and educator.
CAROLINE SHAW
composer
is featured on our Fall Orchestra Concerts, November 5–6. She is a Pulitzer Prize–winning composer (2013) who has collaborated with the leading names in the arts industry, from Yo-Yo Ma to Paul McCartney and Dolly Parton.