Jenni Brandon’s music performed by Hillsdale College Faculty Woodwind Quintet. This year, the Hillsdale College faculty woodwind quintet is trying something new. Their fall concert, which will be held at the Conrad Recital Hall on Sept. 22, 2019 featured music pieces written by all female composers who lived within the past 200 years. They are Jenni Brandon, Valeria Coleman, Jennifer Higdon, Maria Cambini, and Hedwige Chrétien.

The woodwind quintet is composed of five adjunct instructors of music and includes Jaimie Wagner, playing the flute; Liz Spector Callahan, playing the oboe; Andrew Sprung, playing the clarinet; Cynthia Duda, playing the bassoon; and Alan Taplin, playing the horn.

Highlighting the work of a certain group because of the gender of its members isn’t something that often happens at Hillsdale. Cynthia Duda said “95% of pieces picked for large orchestras are composed by men,” she said. “We wanted to do our part to get those female names out there.” Andrew Sprung said the performance would expose the audience to some hidden gems of the music world.

“We’re making a point of acknowledging the accomplishments of women,” Duda said. “Female composers are notoriously underrepresented everywhere, and they just aren’t being played as often as they should be.”