The Proms pledge 50:50 gender balance - but only for contemporary composers

Robert Dex @RobDexES26 February 2018

The Proms has pledged to achieve a 50/50 gender balance by 2022 — but only among the contemporary composers whose work is performed.

It has joined 45 music festivals around the world, including the Aldeburgh Festival, Midem in France and Germany’s Pop-Kultur, backing the Keychange initiative.

It was not until 2013 that the showcase of the 118-year-old Proms festival, its Last Night concert, was led by a woman, New Yorker Marin Alsop.

David Pickard, Proms director, said: “Achieving a 50/50 gender balance of contemporary composers performed at the BBC Proms is something we have been committed to for some time and consider vital to the creative development of the world’s largest classical music festival.” However, audiences may not see a major change because much of the repertoire performed at the Proms is made up of works by historic male composers.

The announcement comes the month after the Wireless Festival in London was criticised for a lack of diversity on its bill, with only three female acts scheduled to perform.

Vanessa Reed, director of music industry charity PRS Foundation, which set up the initiative, said it wanted to “support diverse talent”.

She said: “Our focus on gender equality in 2018 aligns with the centenary for some women being given the vote in the UK: 100 years on, the push for gender parity across society continues and with increased public awareness of inequalities across the creative industries we have an opportunity to respond and commit to tangible change in music.

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“The Keychange network of female artists and industry professionals and the festival partners’ idea of establishing a collective pledge will accelerate change. I hope that this will be the start of a more balanced industry which will result in benefits for everyone.”

The initiative, which counts Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis, Garbage singer Shirley Manson and producer Tony Visconti among its ambassadors, aims to empower women to transform the music industry. Other events that have signed the pledge include the Cheltenham jazz and Cheltenham music festivals, Spitalfields Music and the BBC’s Introducing concerts.

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