Scraps of antique sheet music with ragged edges, tinted all colours of the rainbow

New Music, Diverse Voices

Are you looking for new (or new-to-you) musical works? Seeking to expand beyond the most widely-programmed repertoire? Excited to discover a greater diversity of creative voices? These directories are for you.

If you want to connect with underrepresented and equity-seeking artists, check out this resource as well.

African Diaspora Music Project logo with ADMP in bold deep purple and teal lettering.
African Diaspora Music Project logo with the letters ADMP in purple and striped teal.

The African Diaspora Music Project

The African Diaspora Music Project is a repository for the concert works (those intended for the concert stage, a.k.a classical works) of composers of the African Diaspora.

Initiative by: ADMP

VISIT THE PROJECT
Against a maroon background, white text reads The Big List, surrounded by six images of women throughout history against a colourful floral background.
A maroon graphic reads The Big List, with six collage images of women through history.

The BIG LIST of Women Composers

The BIG LIST of Women Composers is an ever-expanding list featuring more than 5,000 women composers, searchable by country, century and music genre.

Initiative by: Donne, Women in Music

VISIT THE BIG LIST
BIPOC Voices logo with a stylized tree featuring multi coloured leaves
BIPOC Voices logo with a stylized tree featuring multi-coloured leaves.

BIPOC Voices

BIPOC Voices is a database of repertoire for solo voice and instruments by composers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour.

Initiative by: BIPOC Voices

VISIT BIPOC VOICES
Black-and-white photo of a Black performer singing onstage.
Black-and-white photo of a Black performer singing onstage.

Black Opera Database

The Black Opera Database is an in-progress list of operas by Black composers, as well as operas about the Black experience.

Initiative by: Allison Lewis & Nicholas Newton

VISIT THE DATABASE
Canadian League of Composers logo with three blue curliques that look like bass clefs
Canadian League of Composers logo with three blue curliques like bass clefs.

Canadian League of Composers Resources

The Canadian League of Composers Resources page includes guides on composer commissioning rates, arranging rates, best practices around rights and licensing, and more.

Initiative by: Canadian League of Composers Resources

VISIT THE RESOURCES
Purple and teal logo for the Canadian Opera Resource (COR), featuring a stylized sun ray-like half circle from Tapestry opera's logo
Purple and teal logo for the Canadian Opera Resource (COR), featuring a half circle of scribled rays.

Canadian Opera Resource

The Canadian Opera Resource (COR) is a database of Canadian opera works and creators, searchable by subject, title, composer or librettist, voice type and more.

Initiative by: Tapestry Opera

VISIT COR
Moody blue-tinted image of music headphones on a table.
Moody blue-tinted image of music headphones on a table.

The Composer Database

The Composer Database is a searchable directory containing the profiles of composers from historically-excluded groups.

Initiative by: The Institute for Composer Diversity

VISIT THE COMPOSER DATABASE
Black and white closeup of sheet music
Black and white closeup of sheet music.

Contemporary Operas by Women Composers

Contemporary Operas by Women Composers lists opera works by composer from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Initiative by: Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music

VISIT THE LIST
Back of a singer with long reddish hair, silhouetted against glowing stage lights
Back of a singer with long reddish hair, silhouetted against glowing stage lights.

Irish Language Art Song Project

The Irish Language Art Song Project (Tionscadal na nAmhrán Ealaíne Gaeilge) is a collection of fifty new art songs set exclusively to Irish-language texts.

Initiative by: The Contemporary Music Centre Ireland

VISIT THE PROJECT
Scraps of antique sheet music with ragged edges, tinted all colours of the rainbow
Ragged scraps of antique sheet music, tinted all colours of the rainbow.

LGBT-Related Operas

Check out this growing list of LGBTQIA2s+ opera works, including historical and contemporary classics.

Initiative by: Wikipedia

VISIT THE LIST
At a red piano, a composer has one hand on the piano keys and the other making notations in pencil on a page of sheet music
At a red piano, a composer has one hand on the keys and the other writing on sheet music.

The Living Composers Project

The Living Composeres Project is a nonprofit database charting the lives and works of composers in the here and now, that has been under continuous development since 2000.

Initiative by: Dan Albertson, Ron Hannah & Romeo Talento

VISIT THE PROJECT
Against a blue background featuring a globe, white text reads, North American Works Directory
Against a blue background with a globe, white text reads, North American Works Directory.

North American Works Directory

The North American Works Directory is the online hub for information about North American opera and music theatre works, featuring an ever-growing directory of over 1,200 North American operas.

Initiative by: OPERA America

VISIT THE DIRECTORY
The Opera Database logo features white text on a red background, and a large white O over a diamond shape with red, yellow, turquoise and black quadrants.
The Opera Database logo with a red, yellow, turquoise and black diamond on a red background.

The Opera Database

The Opera Database is a searchable database of operas, arias, art song and zarzuela, which is searchable by language and composer nationality, and includes PDFs from public domain sources.

Initiative by: Lee Steiner

VISIT THE DATABASE
A piece of sheet music lies diagonally across piano keys
A piece of sheet music lies diagonally across piano keys.

SongHelix

SongHelix is an online tool that offers a simple way to search through the vast number of art songs by theme, date, the composer’s identity factors and much, much more.

Initiative by: SongHelix

VISIT SONGHELIX
Voce Moderna logo with an inked black V and M over multicoloured paint daubs
Voce Moderna logo with an inked black V and M over multicoloured paint daubs.

Voce Moderna

Voce Moderna is a new resource to help connect singers with contemporary opera arias. It is intended to showcase and promote the work of living composers, and focuses on works written since 2000.

Initiative by: Blair Salter & Jeff Dalley

VISIT VOCE MODERNA

Last updated February 4, 2024
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