The women musicians of Conway Hall's past

Join us for a special concert as we celebrate the special platform that Conway Hall provided for women musicians during the first few decades of the Sunday Concerts, since it began in 1887 under the previous name of the South Place Sunday Popular Concerts.

The Sunday Concerts at Conway Hall have been running since 1887, previously under the name of the South Place Sunday Popular Concerts, making it the longest running series of its kind. This concert will celebrate the special platform that South Place offered to women musicians during the first 1000 concerts between 1887 and 1927. Victorian London was a difficult place for women to carve a successful career as musicians, particularly composers. However, during this 40-year period a wealth of opportunities emerged. South Place made an important contribution to these improvements by programming a still small, but significant number of women composers – many more than appeared at similar concerts in the capital. Their works were programmed alongside famous international composers as well as other lesser-known contemporary British composers, thus offering audiences of the day a unique and diverse breadth of repertoire for their Sunday evening entertainment. All of the works in this one-off concert were written by British women and were performed in the early years of the chamber music concerts. Most of the music has been rarely performed since, despite being popular in its day and still offering compelling sounds to a modern audience.

For further insights into the history of the concerts, the women and their music, Jessica Beck will be giving a free pre-concert talk at 5.30pm, no booking necessary (Main Hall/Brockway Room - tbc)