Part of our Sounds of Nature programme
‘New music groups seem to start up almost every week, but occasionally one launches that makes you not just listen, but stop and think’ – Marcus Marshall, Secretary General, European Union Youth Orchestra
Did you know that last year, just 5% of the classical music pieces performed worldwide were written by women? That’s the highest percentage recorded to date.
Join us on International Women’s Day for a special performance from Her Ensemble celebrating over 2000 years of female composers.
Her Ensemble is a string orchestra whose aim is to make a positive impact on the gender gap in the industry, whilst creating space for musicians of marginalised genders – the first of its kind in the UK.
Deriving from the European Union Youth Orchestra, Her Ensemble brings together some of the most in-demand orchestral and chamber musicians in the UK.
Merging aspects from both classical and pop scenes, the mould-breaking group will perform a range of music written by women, combined with artistic lighting to reinvent the classical concert experience and canon of classical music as we know it. The performance will have a distinctly relaxed feel, with musicians interacting with the audience, adding context to music and doing away with rigid rules and traditions.
Music will include their own arrangements of Bingen, Mahler and Boulanger, as well as works by Price, Morley and Montgomery amongst others, and feature BBC Young Musician string finalist Elodie Chousmer-Howelles, award-winning film composer Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres and singer-songwriter Caitlyn Scarlett.
Come as you are, bring a drink in if you feel like it and get a glimpse into the future of classical music experiences. The event is standing, however there will be chairs available for those who want or need them.
