New initiative to boost women composers

A new initiative to encourage women to compose has been launched today, to coincide with International Women’s Day. ‘Women Make Music’ aims to raise awareness of the gender gap in composition and boost the profiles of women composers.

PRS for Music Foundation, who are behind the initiative, are inviting musical bodies across the UK to propose the commission of a new work by a female composer. Financial support of £5000 is available for a new composition of any musical genre.

There are few famous female classical composers of old, due to the obstacles they encountered: Fanny Mendelssohn’s father forbade her to have her music published and Clara Schumann constantly doubted her abilities as a composer on account of her sex.

More recently female composers have achieved greater prominence, but membership of the Performing Rights Society of composers, songwriters, and music publishers is still only 14% female.

Application for Women Make Music opens today. For details on how to apply click here.