wide variety of genres and styles of music. We had electronica, jazz, avantgarde and pop .We prioritise innovative music that would otherwise struggle to find an outlet, regardless of genre. Q. It seems inevitable to me that the sort of young composers you’re featuring will have been influenced by other, nonclassical genres of music and that this will be reflected in their compositions.
The visibility of women in the arts, and more knottily the extent to which they can expect a fair stab at proving themselves against male counterparts, is variable across the range of artistic disciplines. For example, it could be argued that women in certain sections of the world of rock music have a much better chance now of being regarded as a significant contributor to the form than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Classical music, though, generally still regards the world overwhelmingly through the prism of dead, white, Western, male composers, the vast majority of concert programmes clogged with content chosen more for its familiarity through advertising campaigns and film themes, it seems. Contemporary classical music, that is music composed since 1945 by in many cases still living composers takes a more enlightened and proactive view of inclusiveness and at, say, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival each year female composers are always featured, often as Composer In Residence. But initiatives at a local level are hard to find. Lucky for Leeds then that music graduates Mary-Ellen O’Shea and Claire Layton have decided to add their voices to the debate. Q. The full name of your new venture, Centre Stage: A Spotlight on Female Composers, is pretty self-explanatory, but why did you feel the need to start it? Mary-Ellen: Having studied composition at the Leeds College of Music, I found there was a big difference between the facilities and support I had received as a student and what was available after graduation. The rationale behind the night is to provide emerging female composers with the platform to showcase their compositions and present innovative music of all genres. Q. So is it about inequality in terms of recognition in certain skills like
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composition, rather than simply equality of participation? Claire: It’s more about representation. All emerging composers, no matter what gender, have difficulty in having their music played. Because fewer women go down this road we want to ensure that the ones that do get the support they deserve as artists. We are not saying that music by women is better than that by men- that’s nonsense. We are just giving under-represented artists a platform. Q. Have you had any comments or complaints about the fact that you focus exclusively on female composers? C: No, not so far. I think that people recognise the fact that historically women have been kept out of the picture when it comes to composition. Ask the average person to name some female composers and I don’t think you will get very far! Q. How did Centre Stage come about, then? And why is it based in Leeds? Neither of you are from Leeds are you? M-E: We both studied music together in Cork and have both pursued music professionally so it made sense to work together on this initiative. Many of my connections to fellow composers and musicians are here in Leeds so it was the best place for us to start it up and get it established. Q. The first Centre Stage gig was wonderfully eclectic in terms of styles of music covered. M-E: Yes. The aim of the night was to display the work of female composers across a
M-E: Yes, when we say ‘A Spotlight on Female Composers’ we do not mean ‘classical’ composers. C: That is the beauty of new music - it is a really unique synthesis of all of the amazing sounds that are available to us as listeners now. Why limit yourself to one genre when there is so much to be explored? Q. So, the next Centre Stage event is in May, but in the meantime is there anything you want to add? M-E: We are looking for other female composers regardless of genre, so if anyone reading this wants to get involved, send us an email. The next Centre Stage: A Spotlight On Female Composers gig takes place at the White Cloth Gallery, Leeds on 8th May headlined by Stef Conner. You can contact Centre Stage via centrestageleeds@gmail.com Steve Walsh More info at www.centrestageleeds.com