Final Thoughts

I was thinking more about something I posted to the group blog a month or two ago... I have had 3 women piano teachers, 3 male organ teachers,  3 female cello teachers, and all male composition teachers.  I've also concluded with this; I would like to experience a female organ teacher and a female composition teacher.  However, I have no desire to study cello or piano with a man. I have no idea why, though.  Perhaps it is because I do prefer women teachers to men?  It seems that with the exception of composition, the performers I most admire are women.  Compositionally speaking I think it would just be interesting to have a female perspective, but most of the composers I enjoy are (unfortunately?) men. The "innovators" of composition that we study are almost always men...Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Messiaen, Schoenberg etc... So now, do we overlook women as "innovators" because they are women, or have they been less "innovative" because of the restrictions put on women by society throughout history.  There are no female composition or theory teachers listed on the Peabody or Yale websites. The one major exception being Jennifer Higdon at the Curtis Institute.  But look at the voice faculty her at Westminster Choir College.  The majority are Women, as are the piano faculty and while there were previously 2 women heads of the organ department, now there are no women on the organ department. The overall perspective or question then is; does there need to be a male or female professor in a certain department, or, as one would hope, are the candidates selected the best in their field regardless of gender.