As part of the International Women’s Day 2019 campaign to #BalanceforBetter, Sound and Music showcase the profiles of 31 composers and their unique contributions to composition in the UK. Alumni Akiko Haruna and Guoda Dirzyte, current student Jade Gunner and DMSA Course Leader Dr Maria Papadomanolaki are profiled in the showcase that is part of the online archive of British Music Collection.

British Music Collection provides unparalleled access to the modern history of composition in the UK. Established in 1967 as a means for contemporary composers to deposit scores and recordings for performers to access, it now consists of almost 70,000 works and recordings from over 3000 20th and 21st century composers and sound artists.

The value in the collection is undeniable – providing access to over 50 years of contemporary composition – but it’s not without fault. The underrepresentation of female composers, or those who identify as female, across the original collection is stark, and a reminder of the progress that has been made, and must continue to happen, in and across new music.

Much of the British Music Collection now exists here online, and this provides a great opportunity to readdress this imbalance and the original aim of the collection: providing access to the work of contemporary composers.