London: St Benedict's marks International Women's Day by championing women composers

St Benedict's singers with Director of Music, Gabriella Di Laccio and Headmaster Andrew Johnson

How many women composers can you name? Exactly....St Benedict's School, Ealing is marking International Women's Day with a recital of music entirely by women. Some of St Benedict's singers have given a recital of music by women composers, inspired by their singing teacher, award-winning international soprano Gabriella Di Laccio.

Gabriella champions the music of women composers, many of whom were unrecognised in their lifetimes, their music unacknowledged and ignored. She has been recognised by BBC World for her work in bringing their music to light, and is included in the prestigious BBC 100 Women list of the world's most inspirational and influential women. Gabriella will talk about her research on BBC Radio 3's In Tune on International Women's Day on March 8th.

The recital's programme spans over 160 years and includes beautiful songs such as L'anneau d'argent by Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944), The Apple Orchard by Lori Laitman (b. 1955) and Down by the Salley Gardens by Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979).

On International Women's Day in 2018 Gabriella Di Laccio launched DONNE: Women in Music, an online database of more than 5,000 women composers."DONNE is my way, as a musician, to share with as many people as possible the fascinating stories of so many neglected women composers", said Gabriella. "By raising awareness about the huge inequality that we currently experience when it comes to knowing these women and hearing their music, we hope to help to create a more equal world for future generations."

St Benedict's is delighted to be working in partnership with her in doing just that.

LINKS

Donne - www.drama-musica.com/Donne.html Gabriella Di Laccio's online database of women composers

Gabriella Di Laccio - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-46225037 Gabriella Di Laccio is number 24 on the BBC 100 Women list

Listen to some examples of music by women, on St Benedict's website: www.stbenedicts.org.uk/championing-women-composers-at-st-benedicts

St Benedict's is a co-educational, independent day school for children aged 3 to 18 in Ealing, west London. it has been fully coeducational since 2008