You are invited to our 26th International Festival of Women Composers this Saturday, February 26, 2022 at Iowa State University that Miriam Zach organized as Festival Founder/Creative Director.

This year’s annual international festival includes 500 years of music by 10 women composers from 5 countries, and 10 outstanding ISU Music and Theatre Department opera, piano, and organ faculty and former and current ISU Music students of French horn, oboe, trombone, and organ.

The background of the poster above comes from the Maryamin mosaic (Syria, 4th century AD), which is one of our most important sources of the history of keyboard instruments. The left side of the image shows an organist playing with both hands, which suggests polyphony and harmony in the medieval era, almost 800 years before these were known in western musical thought and practice. The Maryamin mosaic is important as it links Eastern and Western musical thought. In the middle left of the image there is an aulos (double flute = ancient Greek instrument), and in the center a jal tarang (singing bowls of water) popular in India.

Here is the program (click on this link or on the image below):