Women Making Music in Seattle
/Recently, I discovered that Seattle has a rich history of supporting female musicians. The Ladies Musical Club of Seattle was founded when the city was still young in 1891. The original 22 members were female musicians were on a mission to support each other’s musical efforts by organizing performances, attracting talent to the area, and to “[stimulate] musical interest in Seattle.”
Once I discovered this incredible history, I’ve had tunnel vision for all things LMC. Luckily for a history junkie like me, they have done a phenomenal job preserving and digitizing their archives, which is full of member rosters, concert programs, and other fascinating documents. Additionally, a search through the digital archives of the Seattle Times (available for free with your Seattle Public Library card), gives you hundreds of historical records of articles mentioning the ladies of LMC, their recitals, and the esteemed musical guests they brought in from around the world since their founding. From the very beginning , the LMC was highly regarded and noteworthy. Considering women of this time period were generally considered second-class citizens, I found myself completely impressed at the ambitions and gumption showed by these women, and how the city embraced them supportively.
I look forward to being able to do a deep dive into the LMC’s archives. My particular interests include learning about the lives of the women who were the original members of the club, understanding why the people of a new city were so readily able to to accept and support a powerful, female organization, and what sort of ways (if any) did these women openly push gendered boundaries. Stay tuned for updates on my research adventure, and in the meantime, peruse their digital archive yourself!
