Representation MATTERS!
Ella and her daughter at 5 days old
I received this wonderful message from someone out of the blue, although you'll find it's bitter-sweet (sharing with permission):
"Hey, I hope you don't mind me getting in touch. I basically wanted to send you fan mail and to say how much I love your music!
I also wanted to say a huge thank you, I read an interview you gave (ages ago now, but I lost the link and only remembered when a different interview popped up on LinkedIn).
It was so incredibly uplifting to hear someone talk about balancing motherhood and a career in the arts, my husband and I are also freelance musicians and also try (in a very imperfect way!) to split work between us so that we both get time parenting.
But when I read your interview, I realised it was the first I had ever encountered where someone had talked about finding balance rather than just saying "it is hard" and conforming to the expectation the industrty seems to have of everyone working away full time in a bizarre all or nothing vibe.
So thank you!
Thank you for representing and speaking out on this in such an eloquent way, and wishing you every luck, success and happiness!"
This message lit up my world. After I responded to her, sharing my gratitude and emotion, I asked if I could share her words publicly:
"Of course! Yes, if it could be kept anonymous that would be great.
Sadly after being dropped from lots of work when I was pregnant I have subsequently felt anxious not to talk about my family and children publicly - I was really shocked when I realised how backward some of the attitudes were within the music industry, and discovered that singers are very replacable!
Which is why I was just SO delighted to read your piece - thank you for using your platform and hard work to open up a more representative dialogue on this!"
Representation MATTERS!
Our voices MATTER!
So let's spread the word of people working to make a change:
SWAP'ra - supporting parents in Opera
Polyphony Arts - female owned Artist Management changing the face of the classical music industry
Donne - Women In Music - tirelessly championing women and femmes in music and researching the current state of equity in classical performances
Nate Holder's Why Music - Books, podcasts and talks focusing on the de-colonisation of Classical Music
The Daffodil Perspective by Elizabeth De Brito - on a mission to help you discover brilliant yet marginalised composers, broaden your musical horizons and get excited by classical music
The African Concert Series London - a platform for the music of hundreds of African classical composers.
Chineke! Foundation - championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music
Female Composer Safety League - providing a safe, trauma-informed, and inclusive space to support and share resources with victims of sexual abuse in the composing industry.
Living Songs Series - sharing the vast wealth of talent by today’s living composers through songs that they have written for soprano and piano
This list is in no way exhaustive and the chances are that I have missed off some very important people doing incredible work.
Do you know of any people or organisations who I should add to this list? Please email me and let me know.