Illuminate Birmingham - shining a light on the work of women composers

For Season II, Illuminate Women's Music is delighted to announce the formation of a new ensemble, the Illuminate String Quartet, who will be performing across the UK with soprano singer Patricia Auchterlonie!

In Season II, Illuminate Women's Music is commissioning new works by six women composers. The composers are Caroline Bordignon, Soul Zisso, Joanna Ward and the Illuminate composers in residence Angela Elizabeth Slater, Sarah Westwood and Blair Boyd. The composers will be collaborating with the performers of the newly formed Illuminate String Quartet and soprano singer Patricia Auchterlonie. These new works will be programmed alongside a wealth historical works by composers such as Ailsa Dixon, Rebecca Clarke, Barbara Strozzi, and Ruth Crawford Seeger giving a rich context to the strong but neglected tradition of women’s music, and rightly bringing these works as well as new ones to the attention of new audiences across the UK.