Music from Composers Who Reflect Our Movement

By  GALA Expert 

 October 13, 2023 

  

It can be a challenge to find music for your chorus composed by people who share the many identities of our movement. Here are some online resources to make that job a little easier.


headshot of Steve Milloy, smiling black man with bald head

 

Musica International is a collaborative multilingual multimedia database of the world’s choral repertoire. It is intended for choir directors, publishers, composers, event organizers and, more generally, all lovers of choral music who would like to benefit from a comprehensive and effective tool for selecting, (re)discovering and/or locating scores. ACDA members have privileged access to Musica International. Login via your ACDA account for free access.

EarthSongs Choral Music: https://earthsongschoralmusic.com

GALA’s Song Database: https://galachoruses.org/song  (contact Jane to add more songs to this list)

Erik Peregrine – Equitable Choral Programming Resources: http://www.erikperegrine.com/resources.html

Graphite Music: https://graphitepublishing.com

Music Spoke: https://musicspoke.com

Boulanger Initiative Women and Gender-Marginalized Composers Database
Designed for everyone – musicians, performers, conductors, students, researchers, educators, artistic administrators, and anyone with a curious mind – this database provides access to thousands of works by women and gender-marginalized composers. By sharing knowledge and resources, BID increases access to works by underrepresented composers, empowering all who wish to diversify classical music programming. Explore over 8,000 works by more than 1,200 composers with ease, available to you for free.

Gender Expansive Repertoire – XLS Check out this growing list Database of choral repertoire that challenges gender stereotypes.

Activist Songs – Google Doc
Check out this spreadsheet of songs that address themes of social justice and add your own suggestions.

Choral Music by Women Composers Database
This searchable, sortable database lists sample repertoire for all voicings by women composers of all eras, and is intended to be an ever-evolving resource for conductors interested in programming music by women.

Composer Diversity Database

ESV Database of Socially Conscious Choral Music – Empowering silenced voices searchable database.

GALA Festival Program Books – peruse these lists of songs performed at previous Festivals

GALA Festival 2016 Repertoire: https://galachoruses.org/resource/festival-2016-songlist

Program book from GALA Festival 2012- PDF
A searchable PDF that offers composer/publisher information on thousands of songs.

Recordings from GALA Festival 2012
Peruse thousands of recordings and purchase a single track or a complete concert set.