Frequently Asked Questions

Why is X composer not listed yet?

Boulanger Initiative has created a freely-accessible database of gender-marginalized composers. We attempt to make this as extensive and complete as possible however, this process takes significant time and effort to make happen. If you see a non-living composer listed without any works, that likely just means they are on our list of composers to compile and document - check back in every so often!

I know of a non-living composer, but they aren’t listed in the database - how can I get them included?

Thank you for your knowledge and interest in sharing this with us! Please fill out this form to submit information about a non-living gender-marginalized composer not already in the database. We will add this to our list of composers to document and research.

I would like to add more information about a non-living composer who is already listed in the database - how do I send in this information? 

Thank you for your interest in contributing more information to BID! Please fill out this form (the same one used to submit information about a non-living gender-marginalized composer not already in the database). Enter the composer’s name and fill out only the other fields where you would like to add information. Then, in the Notes field at the bottom of the form, mention that you’re adding new information about an existing composer. We will review the form responses and make updates as quickly as possible.

Why only non-living composers? Will you include living composers?

We have plans to expand our database to include living composers. However, this expansion will take significantly more time and ethical preparation, as we will be gaining consent and permissions from all composers and will be taking all efforts to protect any biographical information that living composers share with us.

Do I need to enter composers' names with the correct accents/diacritical marks in order for them to come up in my search results?

No need! Our search functionality will still provide results without those characters. 

How do you define a composer’s country and state?

We define a composer’s country and/or state as the country/state (or countries/states) that they are associated with, according to scholarly sources. This association could be based on the composer’s place of origin, where the composer had close relationships, had or obtained citizenship, or lived and/or worked for a significant amount of time. 

For example, María Grever was born in Mexico and returned there during her education and early career. After her marriage, she became a United States citizen and moved to New York City, where she stayed for the rest of her life. In our database, María Grever is associated with Mexico and the United States, as well as the state of New York.

Why did you list a certain edition of a work over others?

We did our best to include editions that are still in-print and/or are the most easily accessible. Times are always changing, so if a link is included that is not in print, fill out this form and we will try and get it updated as soon as possible.

If multiple recordings were available, how did you choose just one for the video/audio section?

For many non-living composers, there may have only been a single recording available. For composers with multiple recordings, our staff used their best judgment to select a recording that represented the music well. The back-end information behind the scenes only allows for a single video and single audio link to be submitted.

I have found a recording for a piece that does not have a video/audio recording listed. How do I let the BI team know about it?

Wonderful! We are a small team and with our efforts focusing on expanding the database, we are not able to keep track of every recording being made. If you know of a recording for a piece that does not have a recording listed, please fill out this form to let us know and we will get an update made as soon as possible.

I have found a recording - or other information - for a piece in the database that does not have that information listed. How do I let the BI team know about it?

Wonderful! We are a small team and with our efforts focusing on expanding the database, we are not able to keep track of every recording being made. If you know of a recording for a piece that does not have a recording listed, or would like to add any other information about an existing work, please fill out this form to let us know and we will get an update made as soon as possible.

Why can't I search Works by composer birth/death dates, countries of origin, etc?

The back end of the database (the information behind the scenes) only links composer names to works - not other information about the composers - so the BID search tool that you interact with reflects that limitation as of right now. To find works using this approach, consider filtering by composer details in the Composers search tab first, then searching the resulting names in the Works search tab.

Some works are listed as unpublished with no access links to scores. How can I access the manuscripts? 

We are working on listing the locations of all unpublished works and are planning to include that information in a future phase of the database. In the meantime, try checking the notes under a composer (in the Composer search tab) to see if there are details listed about archival collections. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about specific works. For help finding information beyond the database, fill out our Consulting Services form here. 

WHAT OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT COMPOSERS & WORKS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE FUTURE? 

In future phases, we plan to add more demographic information such as the race/ethnicity of the composers and expand the database to include living composers. Regarding their works, our team plans to add information about difficulty levels (grading scales), themes and descriptive tags, and functionality to search orchestral works by instrumentation using numerical shorthand (1.1.1.1, etc.). Stay tuned for updates by subscribing to our newsletter! 

WHY IS SOME OF THE IDENTIFICATION LANGUAGE OUTDATED, INACCURATE, AND/OR INCONSISTENT? 

We strive to do our best to represent these works and composers in a way that centers and respects their individual identities, which for non-living composers includes using the documented information we have available. Each term is labeled at our team's discretion and we lean towards using language they used to describe themselves at that time when available. That being said, in our quest for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive database, we’re going to mess up. Please feel free to be in touch and send us feedback if you find an error or simply something that doesn’t reflect best practices.

How did you decide on what metadata to include in the database?

This database is focused on getting more works by gender-marginalized composers performed. Therefore, the metadata included was generated by user requests, including links to WorldCat listings and publisher information. Within the fields included, we’ve adhered to Library of Congress standards. The data we enter is based on what is available in the resources we used at the time of entry.

What did you use to build this?

We used Airtable, a relational database tool, to enter and store information. The information itself is compiled and entered into Airtable by the Research team at BI - staff, interns, and volunteers who are all trained in research techniques by experienced music librarians and researchers. If you have more questions about the tools or tech stack, or our process, please contact us through the Contact Us form on our website.