Donne

Women in Music

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CELEBRATING, ADVANCING & AMPLIFYING WOMEN IN MUSIC.

Driving equality, diversity and inclusion across the music industry.

ABOUT US

DONNE is a charitable foundation that is here to make a positive change and to readdress the gender inequality within the music industry. Our main goal is to celebrate, advance and amplify women in music so that they are seen, heard and appreciated for their talent so they can leave a legacy of inspiration for future generations.

WHAT WE DO

We are passionate to help include, promote and support women in music. It is time to make a profound shift within the music industry for equal opportunities to rule irrespective of gender. Part of our goal is to raise profiles of women composers through history and today so that they can be more role models for the generations to come.

OUR NAME

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WHO DO WE SUPPORT?

We are committed to creating supportive resources amplify and promote anyone who identifies as a woman. We profoundly believe in inclusivity, so welcome people and organisations from all backgrounds to support us in raising awareness and making this shift.

Our goal is to leave a legacy of inspiration for future generations
on how we include, support and promote women in music.

HERE ARE SOME OF OUR INITIATIVES

THE BIG LIST


The BIG LIST of Women Composers is an ever-expanding list featuring more than 5,000 women composers (and counting).

From pre-medieval composers to 21st century singer-songwriters, pick a country, a century, a music genre:

YOU WILL FIND A WOMAN THERE.

Someone, I tell you, in another time,
will remember us.

We are oppressed by fears
of oblivion.”

SAPPHO (c. 630-c.570 BC)

WHAT MATTERS TO US?

1

AWARENESS

Throughout the year DONNE continues to raise awareness about women composers and women in music who made and are still making a difference to society by celebrating their success to ensure there are more role models for future generations.

2

EDUCATION

Education is a crucial step on creating change: learn more about the inspirational stories of women composers in our educational videos, listen to their music on our specially curated playlist, discover THOUSANDS of women composers in our BIG LIST OF WOMEN COMPOSERS.

3

ADVANCING

We are committed to supporting women composers all over the world as well as advancing the new generations by funding new commissions, offering and offering support and a wide selection of resources, which will continue to grow over time.

4

CONNECTING

The change we want to see can only happen if all sectors of the music industry get involved via continuous actions and full engagement. We want to involve and connect with as many people as possible, amplify the message and create real change towards equality in music.

Donne, Women in Music is a unique project, which champions the world of women composers in a field where there is great inequality. ❞

RACHEL PORTMAN

The world is a diverse planet;
music should be also. The project Donne shines a light on women composers and artists and is a positive step towards parity. ❞

MEI-ANN CHEN

Donne is a rich, vibrant, and stylistic diverse platform to counteract the under representation of women in music composition by making their faces visible and their voices heard. ❞
CATARINA DOMENICI

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Research and analysis of performed repertoire is an important initiative on the fight for equality. We are committed to continuing to share our findings as well as further analyses, which have been done by projects all over the world. Visit our RESEARCH page for more information.

INEQUALITY IN MUSIC:
WOMEN COMPOSERS BY NUMBERS IN 2019 – 2020
Out of 1505 concerts worldwide, ONLY
123 included works by women
composers

WELCOME TO DONNE

Watch the introduction by soprano Gabriella Di Laccio, founder & curator of the project Donne, Women in Music.

We want to empower women to unleash their creative power, support more women in this journey, educate audiences and engage all people in the conversation.

Join us in making a difference!