Research Short: Women Transforming Classical Music

Today I am speaking with Laura Hamer about her new free, online, 6-hour course, produced by The Open University, Women Transforming Classical Music. The course aims to support performers and classical music ensembles and organisations to diversify their repertoire by programming more music by women composers (historical and contemporary).

It is illustrated throughout by interviews with industry experts who are all leaders in the field of championing the music of women composers, talking about their work and how they have gone about advocating for greater gender equity within the classical music industry.

Laura explained the need for this resource:

‘When considering why the representation of works by women composers within classical music performance is so low, people often point to the barriers to programming more of their works, such as lack of knowledge of the repertoire, performance editions of their works not being available, and perceptions about audiences not being interested in hearing this music.’

Women Transforming Classical Music focuses on offering solutions, including how to curate diverse programmes, seeking funding, building audience engagement, and getting performers on board. It includes practical advice on where to find scores and resources, creating performance editions, promoting and working with living women composers, and commissioning new music.

I asked Laura who this course is for:

‘This course will be of particular interest to classical music performers, ensembles, organisations, and programmers. I very much hope that it will be used to drive change within the classical music industry and help to increase the representation of works by women composers in the concert hall. It will also be of interest to music educators and those involved with training performers.’

Laura Hamer is a Senior Lecturer in Music at The Open University. Her research focuses on women in music. Her books include Musiciennes of Interwar France, 1919-1939 (Routledge, 2018), The Cambridge Companion to Women in Music since 1900 (ed. CUP, 2021), The Routledge Companion to Women and Musical Leadership: The Nineteenth Century and Beyond (ed. with Helen Julia Minors, Routledge, 2024), and Bandleader Mrs Mary Hamer and Her Boys (with Mike Brocken, CUP 2025). Between 2022 and 2024, she was PI of the AHRC-funded Women’s Musical Leadership Online Network.

Laura was joined in this project by Ann Grindley, who is currently completing a PhD on Cécile Chaminade at The Open University.

Find out more:

• Access the course here: Women transforming classical music | OpenLearn – Open University
• Follow Laura Hamer on LinkedIn or view her research profile here.

Written by Kerry Bunkhall – Research Manager for Music Mark