Boulanger Initiative

Boulanger Initiative advocates for women and all gender marginalized composers. We foster inclusivity and representation to expand and enrich the collective understanding of what music is, has been, and can be. We promote music composed by women through performance, education, research, consulting, and commissions.

Co-Founders Joy and Laura chose the name Boulanger Initiative to honor the work of two paragons of the 20th-Century classical music world. Nadia and Lili Boulanger were not only talented musicians and composers, but they also broke gender barriers on their way to great musical achievements. Both sisters were among the first few women to enter the prestigious Prix de Rome competition, and in 1913 Lili became the first woman to earn the coveted Grand Prix.

With our approach to performance, education, research, consulting, and the commissioning of new music, we pay tribute to Nadia and Lili Boulanger and all that they accomplished, while at the same time acknowledging that we have much, much further to go.