260 Women: Investigating the Interwar Generation of Women Composers at the Royal College of Music
At present, I am undertaking a doctoral research project at the Royal College of Music, which is starting to introduce the public to lesser-known interwar female composers and their works, by recovering manuscript scores, preparing their premiere and recording, as well as their performing editions, suitable for publication. My project's unique approach combines methodologies from historical research, digital humanities, and practice-led approaches to identify and celebrate women composers who have hitherto remained unknown or received insufficient acknowledgement. My doctoral research is kindly supported by the British-Spanish Society, the Royal College of Music and the Frank Bridge Trust. I have also been awarded a FfWG Foundation Grant to help with the cost of living expenses.
Supervisory team: Dr Carola Darwin, Prof David Wright, Dr Sarah Whitfield, Dr Danny Driver.
Publications and Editions
Holst, Imogen. Prelude and Dance. Edited by Laura Casas Cambra. Faber Music, 2023.
Holst, Imogen. Theme and Variations. Edited by Laura Casas Cambra. Faber Music, 2023.
Curation
Royal College of Music Museum: curator of the Royal College of Music “Treasures from the Archive (II)” Exhibition, January 2024.
Royal College of Music Museum: curator of the Royal College of Music “Treasures from the Archive (I)” Exhibition, June 2023.
Papers
Doctors in Performance Conference, held at the Royal Academy of Music, London: I presented my research paper “259 Women: Investigating the Interwar Generation of Women Composers at the Royal College of Music (1918-1939)”, as part of the women in music panel, September 2023.
F-List for Music, Institute of Contemporary Music Performance and Independent Society of Musicians: I presented my research paper “259 Women: Investigating the Interwar Generation of Women Composers at the Royal College of Music (1918-1939)”, at the 2nd Annual F-List Research Hub Conference, under the Emerging Researchers panel, April 2023.
Talks and pre-concert talks
Chloé Festival: Pre-Concert Talk for the concert “Beyond the Shadows”, July 2024.
Britten Pears Arts: “Imogen Holst as a Composer”, as part of their Digital Sessions series, April 2024.
Royal College of Music Museum: International Women’s Day Pre-Concert Talk, March 2024.
Britten Pears Arts: “Imogen Holst: A career in music”, as part of their Discovery Sessions series, September 2022.
Examples of my work
Exhibition: Women Composers at the Royal College of Music
Since 2023, I am the curator of the Treasures from the Archive Exhibition at The Royal College of Music Museum. The Exhibition highlights the women composers who studied at the Royal College of Music in the 20th century, and features material held at the Royal College of Music Archive. The Summer Exhibition 2023 featured the stories and materials by Marion Scott and Freda Swain, and the Winter Exhibition 2024, Elizabeth Maconchy and Dorothy Gow.
Pre-Concert Talk x Chloé Piano Trio: Beyond the Shadows
In July 2023, I gave a pre-concert talk for the Chloé Piano Trio. For this occasion, the three composers featured were Henriëtte Bosmans, Lili Boulanger and Clara Schumann.
Imogen Holst: Solo Piano Manuscript Scores
In 2021, as part of my master’s final research project, I premiered two unheard solo piano works by Imogen Holst, as well as prepared their performing editions, thanks to the collaboration with Britten Pears Arts and the permission of The Holst Foundation. As a result, the editions are now published by Faber Music and I was invited to present my project at a Discovery Session at Britten Pears Arts.