Ruth Seeger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Crawford

Ruth Crawford Seeger was the first woman to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship Award for Music.

From http://www.peggyseeger.com/about/about-my-family

PEGGY SAYS: "My mother, Ruth Crawford, was short and round in stature, a fiery, creative woman. We called her Dio. She was an avant garde composer but her mind was open to music of any kind. Dio was a superb piano player and a full-time piano teacher...she was intrigued by the connection between mathematics and music and transmitted her excitement to me. I remember spending several challenging weeks learning to play one tune right through the circle of fifths. Then I would take the tune through every mode in every key - and unless you've played The Irish Washerwoman in C# in the Lydian mode at the age of 10, you haven't lived..."