The piano music of Cécile Chaminade

Abstract

Music has always been a part of my life. From a young age, I quickly became devoted to the art form. I started playing piano when I was ten, and from there I became obsessed with creating music. I joined every music ensemble I could in high school, and it quickly became clear to me that I needed to continue my music journey in college. I strove for a minor in piano performance and continued to learn and grow in my skills as a pianist. When I learned I had to write a thesis for the honors college, I knew I wanted it to act as a capstone for my minor. Even though I knew I wanted my thesis to be related to my minor, I wasn’t sure exactly what to focus on. Luckily, as I continued my education, both in music and otherwise, I became passionate about the works of underrepresented artists. Specifically, throughout my music history classes in college, I learned about the struggles women faced when composing and publishing music. I was inspired by the stories of women composers and their experiences and came to the realization that I hadn’t been exposed to their music until that point. With that, I knew that I wanted to bring more exposure to these women and their excellent works. In this recital, I focus on the piano music of Cécile Chaminade, a female composer in the Romantic era.