Bangor University’s School of Music will host the inaugural Women’s Work in Music conference next month. Running from 4-7 September in Wales, it has been timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the death of Welsh composer Grace Williams.
Topics under discussion include cultural, political and historical themes around women working in the music business. The conference will provide a platform for discussion and look to come up with collective solutions for existing problems. It will also celebrate the achievements of women working in the field.
The programme itself is made up of more than 90 paper presentations, panel discussions, lectures and keynote addresses. Among the highlights are an industry panel chaired by Deborah Annetts, chief executive of Incorporated Society of Musicians; a PRS for Music panel led by classical music account manager Harriet Wybor; and a talk from Edwina Wolstencroft, editor of International Women’s Day at BBC Radio 3.
Other speakers include scholar Sophie Fuller, classical music writer Jessica Duchen, composer Steph Power, Maxie Gedge from PRS Foundation and Samantha Morgan from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Elsewhere a concert programme will see the work of Grace Williams and other female composers performed by Ensemble Cymru, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and baritone Jeremy Huw Williams.