Ruth Hopkins will perform songs from the Medieval period to Tudor times, written by women composers. She is accompanied on lute and theorbo by Toby Carr.
Where and when?
The concert will take place in Old St Martin’s Church, Cornmarket, Worcester starting at 1.00 pm.
Free entry
We will collect donations at the end of the concert in aid of Old St Martin’s and to support the work of Worcestershire Early Music.
Outreach project
This concert is the conclusion of a Worcestershire Early Music Outreach Project.
Ruth and Toby presented a workshop earlier in April, at Hagley R.C. High School, where pupils were invited to create and perform their own compositions.
The pupils listened to works by women composers, including a song by Anne Boleyn, to inform their work.
Ruth and Toby have attracted some funding for these workshops, and Worcestershire Early Music is supporting this lunch hour concert.
The issue of the general neglect of women composers, and of their exclusion from the Music A level syllabus of Britain’s biggest exam board was aired by Jessy McCabe, a student from Chiswick, who launched a petition in 2015, after realising that there were no women composers included for study in her school’s chosen A level syllabus.
She campaigned successfully, receiving an assurance that things would change to ensure the inclusion of women, not only in music, but in other qualifications.
Composer Judith Weir, a supporter of the campaign, has been invited to contribute to the exam board’s collation of female composers for the new syllabus.
Worcestershire Early Music is committed to creating a gender equal future.
