EMPOWER 2026: Let The Music Lead!

An inspiring evening of live music and conversation celebrating women who are shaping the future of music. EMPOWER: Women Changing Music brings together powerful chamber performances and thought-provoking discussion, spotlighting creativity, leadership, and representation across the industry.

EMPOWER is dedicated to advancing fairness and gender equality in the music world by spotlighting female composers and performers and expanding opportunities for emerging artists. Through vibrant live music and insightful dialogue, the initiative champions the transformative impact women are making creatively and professionally, while fostering connection, collaboration, and positive change.

Rooted in EMPOWER’s four core pillars: performance, commissioning, advocacy, and support network; the evening places visible role models at its heart, sharing experiences and insights from across the music profession and inspiring the next generation of artists and leaders.

Highlights include premieres of original work, as well as a performance of the OpusHERcommission by Ezo Sarici, an award created to support emerging female composers and expand contemporary repertoire.

Hosts:
Sinéad Walsh
Hannah Seymour

Panellists:
Dr. Michelle Phillips – Head of Enterprise (Academic), Royal Northern College of Music
Dr. Anna Appleby – Composer and Songwriter
Betty Makharinsky – Soprano and Executive Director of Vache Baroque

Performers:
Dogoda Quintet – Sofia Patterson Gutierrez (flute), Emily Long (oboe), Raj Bhaumik (clarinet) , Thomas Donkin (bassoon), Chloe Harrison (horn)
Valette Ensemble – Rachel Stonham (violin), Emily Ampt (violin), Jeanette Szeto (viola), Maya Tucker (cello), Julia Leszczynska (piano)
Chameleon – Cara Houghton (flutes), Jessica Tomlinson (clarinet and saxophone), Sarah Austen (saxophone, clarinet, flute), Eleanor Mills (bassoon and saxophone)
EMPOWER Collective (gratefully supported by ABRSM) – Sinéad Walsh (flute), Hannah Seymour (oboe), Emily Harrison (violin), Eugenia Garcia Cuesta (viola), Hoda Jahanpour (cello)

Experience music that matters. Be inspired, challenged, and moved by an event that celebrates voices shaping the future of music.

This event is gratefully supported by the PRS Early Career Promoter Fund, ABRSM and the Marchus Trust.

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