I found an interview of composer Beth Anderson, with a couple of interesting responses:
Did you ever feel discriminated against as a female composer?
Yes of course. When there are festivals of new music and 100 or 99 or 98 of the 100 composers are men and there are only 0 or 1 or 2 women, you know that's discrimination...
Who was your most influential teacher?
Terry Riley because even though he actually taught me the basic ideas of singing classical Indian music from India, he also reminded me how important melody is to music...
Yes of course. When there are festivals of new music and 100 or 99 or 98 of the 100 composers are men and there are only 0 or 1 or 2 women, you know that's discrimination...
Who was your most influential teacher?
Terry Riley because even though he actually taught me the basic ideas of singing classical Indian music from India, he also reminded me how important melody is to music...
And yet, my favorite Anderson piece may be Tower of Power, a decidedly non-melodic, non-traditional organ piece:
"Hold as many keys and pedals down as possible, using only your body, at as loud an amplitude as possible, using both your ears and your equipment to decide, for a minimum of five minutes, using yourself and your audience to decide, changing timbres a minimum of five times, without letting any notes up, avoiding any sharp contrasts, allowing your organ to dictate the possibilities...Prepare your spirit, mind, ears, body, family, but avoid any discussion of the sound." (DRAM)
