What is it about?
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“Music She Wrote” is a project I initiated in 2023. I am committed to playing or arranging at least one piece of organ or piano music by female composers every week for church services or other occasions.
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Every week I spent a significant amount of time browsing music for Sunday service. I realized that most of the music played in churches over the decades has remained largely unchanged, predominantly composed by male composers. Many church musicians recycle their repertoire over time, leading some congregations to hear the same cycle of music for decades. I wondered: If I need to spend considerable time searching for music that has been recycled for years, why not break the cycle and introduce works by female composers? Thus, I created “Music She Wrote” committing to perform at least one work by a female composer at each church service, allowing contemporary audiences to hear these works for the first time.
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What resources did I use?
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The primary resource I use is The Society of Women Organists (SWO). This large and growing community is dedicated to achieving gender balance in the organ world, and its resources are freely available to the public. It includes two major sections: the Directory of Women Composers: Organ and Liturgical Music, arranged by country, and the Work Catalogue list, which organizes works by female composers alphabetically and notes their countries of residence.

Another resource is the Boulanger Initiative Database (BID), which enhances free access to works by underrepresented composers, supporting those who wish to diversify classical music programming.

In 2021, SWO inaugurated Women Composer Sunday, when organists and choir directors are invited to include a piece by a woman composer in that day's church service and post a performance on social media. Here is a link to Women Composer Sunday Recommended Repertoire List. In 2022, Women Composer Sunday was joined and promoted by SWO and AGO. Here is a link to the Women Composer Sunday 2022 final repertoire. 
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Were there any Challenges?
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Yes, definitely! Firstly, there are relatively few keyboard compositions available, particularly from earlier periods or those in the public domain, which are often vocal works. Transcription is sometimes necessary to adapt these works for keyboards. Secondly, many scores are still in manuscript form and have not been engraved, adding to the challenge of reading the music. Thirdly, some works by female composers were published under male composers' names; for example, many of Fanny Mendelssohn’s compositions were published under the name of her brother, Felix Mendelssohn. This requires additional research into the background of each piece before it can be announced and performed.
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