Glyndebourne has selected four female composers to take part in a new development scheme. Balancing the Score is a new initiative that addresses the under-representation of female composers in classical music.
The selected composers are Anna Appleby, Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, Cecilia Livingston and Ailie Robertson. The group will spend two years at Glyndebourne, attending rehearsals, receiving commissions and networking with opera makers and performers. Balancing the Score begins in January 2019.
Appleby has had commissions for Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Dutch National Ballet; Cruttwell-Reade is based in Edinburgh and has an interest in working with damaged musical instruments; Livingston specialises in music for voice, and was a 2015-2017 composition fellow at American Opera Projects in New York; Robertson recently completed her PhD in composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and has written for London Philharmonic Orchestra and Bang on a Can.
In addition to working directly with Glyndebourne, the composers will also receive opportunities with its partners London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Southbank Centre. Each will receive an annual GBP1,000 bursary (€1,150).
Further, each composer has written a short piece that will be performed at one of the four upcoming performances of the La traviata: Behind the Curtain tour.
