Royal Albert Hall and Donne Foundation announce partnership

London’s Royal Albert Hall has announced its partnership with Donne Foundation, a charity dedicated to achieving gender equality in the music industry. The two organisations will collaborate on projects designed to highlight women in the sector including a concert series.

The first project of the partnership will be a series of performances in the Hall’s Elgar Room, guest curated by Donne, which will open with saxophonist and composer Camilla George. Further events and initiatives as part of the partnership will be announced in the coming months.

Soprano Gabriella Di Laccio, who founded the charity in 2018, said: ‘If we want to see a more equal music scenery, one that reflects the richness and diversity of talent, we need real commitment and action from all sectors of the music industry. It’s not about giving these voices a special month to shine, but a regular platform that can amplify the message, engage new audiences, and spotlight unknown talent. We couldn’t think of a better partner to start this wonderful collaboration.’

Di Laccio, started the Donne Foundation with the goal of expanding the promotion of women in all artistic fields including music, film, theatre, dance, literature and many other sectors of the entertainment industry. As part of its work, the foundation creates resources and commissions research to help generate an impact.

Last year the charity released its Equality & Diversity in Global Repertoire report which looked at over 20,400 works programmed by 111 orchestras in 31 countries in the 2021/2022 season. The research, found that 87.7% were written by white men, with 5% of the pieces composed by women and only 1.11% of pieces were composed by Black & Asian women.

The charity’s work to remedy this issue includes its large-scale project, The Big List, an ever-expanding list of more than 5,000 women composers from the pre-medieval era to the 21st century. Alongside these resources the foundation also presents talks and offers programme consultation to help increase the visibility of women composers.

Matthew Todd, the Royal Albert Hall’s director of programming, said: ‘Diversity is at the core of our business plan, and we’re acutely aware of the need for greater representation for women across all parts of the music industry. We’re excited to be working with the Donne Foundation on this important issue.’