Perth Symphony Orchestra is excited to announce a new Women on the Podium Conducting Symposium to be held in October and Minderoo Foundation as Principal Partner of PSO.
Perth Symphony’s Conducting Symposium will provide intensive training for aspiring female conductors based in Western Australia. Led by pioneering UK conductor, Alice Farnham, who has increased the percentage of female conductors in Britain from 1.4per cent to 6 per cent in eight years. The Symposium will run from October 21 to October 30, 2022.
The program is open to all levels of the conducting experience, including beginners, intermediate and advanced. The participants selected for the program will work with Perth Symphony’s musicians and receive training and professional development from inspirational female leaders that will help effect change in this male-dominated industry.
After more than 6 years of support, Minderoo Foundation has increased its funding by 50% in 2022 to become the Principal Partner of Perth Symphony Orchestra. Minderoo Foundation’s support has enabled PSO to take a major step forward in building its organisational capacity. Minderoo additionally hosted the fundraising launch for the Women on the Podium Conductor’s Symposium.
Chair Philip Thick said “Perth Symphony is enormously grateful to Minderoo Foundation for this support, especially after such a challenging period for artists. We are hugely proud of the alignment of so many of the values of our organisations, and we look forward to continuing to make a significant contribution to the cultural evolution of Western Australia, with Minderoo at our side as Principal Partner”.
Perth Symphony was founded in 2011 and is renowned for its adventurous programming, diverse artistic collaborations championing WA talent, and the ability to perform in a huge range of places and spaces across Western Australia.
Minderoo Foundation Arts & Culture Director Ella McNeill said Minderoo is thrilled to continue its support for Perth Symphony Orchestra at this important moment in the orchestra’s development.
“PSO thinks big and isn’t afraid to try new things on their mission to break down barriers for people across the community to experience world-class music.” Ms McNeill said. “We are particularly delighted to support an orchestra promoting extraordinary opportunities for female leaders in the arts, through company management and also the inspiring Women on the Podium program.”
The Conducting Symposium will open with the Australian premiere of the movie The Conductor on Friday, 21 October at 6.30pm, at Methodist Ladies College, an event which is open to the public. This multi-award-winning film documents the story of the world’s most famous female conductor Marin Alsop, a shining example of why the Women on the Podium program is so necessary to bring about gender balance in the conducting industry.
Click HERE to see the trailer for The Conductor.
For further information contact:
Natalie Chalmers, Marketing Manager +61 9380 5060