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According to a survey of the 22 largest American orchestras, women composers accounted for only 1.8% of the total pieces performed in the 2014-2015 concert season. Moreover, only 14.3% of living composers who are writing pieces that may one day enter these orchestras regular repertoires are female.
Missy Mazzoli wants to change those numbers. The professional composer and musician defines her life purpose as “helping people connect to emotions or experiences through music, and enabling more young people, particularly women, to express themselves through composition.” Mazzoli lives out her purpose by serving as an example in her career and mentoring upcoming female composers through her volunteer work.
Mazzoli earns a living composing operas, orchestras and pieces for smaller ensembles; writing music for TV and film; and creating arrangements for bands like Sigur Ros. She also tours and performs with her band Victoire and teaches at the Mannes School of Music at the New School in New York City.
In 2016, along with composer Ellen Reid and in partnership with Kaufman Music Center, Mazzoli founded Luna Composition Lab, an organization that provides mentorship and professional opportunities for female composers in their teens. “Teaching young women is a vital and fulfilling part of my life,” Mazzoli says. “I don’t think that performing or composing would make sense to me if I weren’t also doing my part to ensure that the path was slightly easier for future generations of creators.”
As a woman, Mizzoli sometimes struggles to be taken seriously and to carve out opportunities for large-scale work in what remains a male-dominated field. This is why she personally has mentored dozens of young women through her work as a professor and simply by speaking to girls and women who contact her out of the blue. Luna Lab is a natural outgrowth of this passion.
In its short life, Luna Lab already has established partnerships with the Metropolitan Opera, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Amsterdam Records, Contemporaneous Ensemble, and the New York Philharmonic, among others. “Many organizations use Luna Lab as a resource through which to identify the next generation of young female composers. Our current students and alumni have received commissions and performances from partner organizations,” Mazzoli explains.
She was ten years old when she realized that she wanted to be a composer, Mazzoli says. She played piano as a child and fell in love with classical music at a very young age. Yet she also immersed herself in literature, visual art, theater, and philosophy. Composition, and in particular the creation of opera and theatrical work, allowed her to investigate all of these passions in the name of research.
“I used to think that my path was particularly chaotic because I’m an artist,” Mazzoli says. “But I’ve come to realize that even ‘stable’ professions are full of financial, professional, and interpersonal complications. There’s no escaping unpredictability, so you might as well love what you do! At the end of the day, even if everything in a rehearsal or performance goes wrong, I know that I’m working to bring worthwhile music and opportunities to a larger audience and, particularly through my work with Luna Composition Lab, to support young women and increase female representation in this field.”
Mentorship, Mizzoli believes, is an essential aspect of any career. But in male-dominated fields, women in particular need role models who look like them. She explains:
Our mentees come to us not only with professional questions, but also with personal life questions -- questions about how to apply to college and who to talk to about a specific project. Young people feel this false pressure to figure everything out on their own, and yet that’s rarely the most effective or enjoyable way to get ahead. Looking back at my career, I wish I had asked for help more, cultivated relationships with more mentors, and sought advice from musicians who have been down this road before. I think people who have reached a level of professional success often want to be mentors and are just waiting to be asked.
