Women in Music Festival

Wednesday 18 June 2014

On 1 and 2 July the RCM plays host to a very special festival. Created and curated by current RCM Junior Fellows the Albany Piano Trio, the Women in Music festival includes three concerts that celebrate female composers through the ages:

The first concert at 1.05pm on 1 July, Female Composers of the RCM, features music by RCM composers past and present, including the UK premiere of Charlotte Bray’s new piano trio Those Secret Eyes, and a brand new work developed by the trio with current RCM composer Josephine Stephenson.

On 2 July, also at 1.05pm, a unique event celebrates the lives of Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel through readings and music, and features special guests the Rumore Quartet.

Then at 6pm also on 2 July, the festival finale concert – entitled Music and Words – includes song cycles by Emily Hall and Rebecca Clarke, and ends with Sally Beamish’s evocative The Seafarer Trio for narrator and piano trio.

Albany Piano Trio cellist Verity Evanson explains the motivation for the festival: “We have always tried to present new works to audiences in ways that allow them to really engage with the music. In this festival, each concert takes a different angle on the work of female composers and brings it to life through letters, visual projections and poetry. We want to explore the challenges that women face and have always faced, and also celebrate the wonderful music that has often been forgotten.”

For full details visit www.rcm.ac.uk/womeninmusic