BY THE CUTCOMMON TEAM
This March 8 is International Women’s Day. To celebrate, we got thinking about those who inspire us most — from performers to composers, arts administrators to musicologists.
We asked our writers to tell us who they look up to. Here are the names they revealed.
Who inspires you this International Women’s Day?
Monica Curro and Phoebe Russell
Two women who inspire me are Monica Curro (the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s assistant principal second violin), and Phoebe Russell (the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s principal double bass).
A captivating performer, Phoebe is always pushing the boundaries of what is possible on the double bass — and challenging audiences to see the instrument in a new light.
Whether Monica (pictured below) is playing in MSO, Plexus, or co-directing the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, she brings passion and commitment to everything she does, and uses her diverse platforms to champion lesser-known music and musicians.
– Emma Sullivan
Loreena McKennitt
Canadian singer-songwriter Loreena McKennitt is a woman in music who has inspired me in so many ways. Her extensive research on the history of the Celtic people and traditions of Irish, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern music and poetry have led her to produce some of the most beautiful and well-informed albums of our time.
She also recently founded The Stolen Child Project — an initiative to facilitate the examination of how the over-scheduling, relentless exposure to technology, loss of family time and, at a time of climate crisis, loss of connection with nature are affecting childhood development.
I have been very proud to include one of her compositions, Dante’s Prayer, in my own concerts over the past few months.
– Jeffrey Palmer
Deborah Cheetham
I find Deborah Cheetham (pictured below by Wayne Quilliam) to be an inspiring figure in the Australian music scene. She and her Short Black Opera are creating some quality pieces of Australian art music and providing opportunities to Aboriginal artists, all while educating the country on important issues concerning Indigenous Australians that are so often forgotten or disregarded.
– Alison Paris
Deborah Cheetham is a huge inspiration to me — a strong Aboriginal woman making brilliant art and speaking out against injustice. We as non-Indigenous Australian composers must listen to voices such as hers!
– Rachel Bruerville
Joanna MacGregor
I met Joanna MacGregor at the Australian Piano Pedagogy Conference in Brisbane last year. I attended her keynote presentation and also her concert, which she played her own piano arrangement of Piazzolla’s Libertango that I loved. She inspired me because she was not only a brilliant concert pianist, but also a composer, a conductor, and a festival curator! The amount of music festivals and projects she took part in was incredible.
Before meeting her, I never knew one can ‘have it all’ as a female musician and have such a diverse and interesting career; she seemed to excel at everything she did.
– Wendy Zhang
Sarah Willis and Nicola Benedetti
As a horn player, it’s pretty hard to go past Sarah Willis. As a member of the Berlin Philharmonic horn section, she’s a musical force to be reckoned with, but it’s her online projects and advocacy for the horn, brass instruments, and music in general that really make her someone to admire.
Nicola Benedetti (pictured below by Keith Saunders) is another amazing musician making positive change beyond the stage. In between her busy schedule of soloist and recital engagements, she’s also a strong and passionate advocate for music education. Seeing her on stage during her tour of Australia (Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio, Musica Viva 2018) was special, but seeing her in masterclasses with younger musicians was inspiring.
– Tim Hannah
Thelma Plum
I am completely inspired by Aussie artist Thelma Plum. She is unapologetic in celebrating her culture and femininity, and confronts all her critics head-on, all while creating beautiful, original, vulnerable music.
– Lily Bryant
Rosalind Halton
I would have to say for me it’s Australian harpsichordist/musicologist Rosalind Halton.
An alumnus of the University of Oxford, her working encyclopaedic knowledge of music, scrupulousness in forensically unearthing forgotten works of the Baroque period, steadfast reliability as a harpsichordist (in both solo and chamber music contexts), and general wisdom and quick wit are all, in my not-so-humble opinion, unrivalled.
She was among my most important mentors when I did my undergraduate music studies at the University of Newcastle, and her influence still guides me in my own artistic journey.
– Joseph Asquith
Maraika Smit
A young musician who I have been lucky enough to hear play with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra many times, French horn player Maraika Smit inspires me every day, as she is simply an amazing young artist who is true to herself and passionate about music for its own sake.
– Zoe Douglas-Kinghorn
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Being able to use technology to create new musical atmospheres in modern screen composition is groundbreaking, and it’s the way forward. This is why I’m inspired by Hildur Guðnadóttir.
Hildur composed the soundtrack to television show Chernobyl, as well as the score to Joker — for which she won the latest Academy Award for Best Original Score, and was also the first solo woman to win the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for best score.
Adele Schonhardt and Sally Whitwell
It must be said that there are countless women in music who inspire me every day, particularly when we see women persevering in highly competitive male-dominated fields. But two people who have stood out to me in recent times are Adele Schonhardt, and Sally Whitwell.
Adele is one of the nation’s ever-rising arts leaders, and I’ve been an avid watcher of her career as it explodes from strength to strength. While working in Musica Viva (where she is Media and Public Affairs Manager), she also pursued study and worked hard to achieve her MBA. Shortly after, she was named the new chair of the board at 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne! What’ll be next?!
As for Sally Whitwell (pictured below), I take my hat off to any person who dares to fight the trolls. Incredibly impressive career aside (think: ARIA wins, global performances, and work with children through the Gondwana Choirs and Sydney Children’s Choir), this composer has used her own public platform on social media to push tirelessly and fearlessly for equality and respect in the music industry and beyond.
– Stephanie Eslake
Pianist and composer Sally Whitwell is a musical inspiration, because she is honest and vocal about the confidence struggles musicians can face, and isn’t afraid to expose issues in the industry.
– Miranda Ilchef
Emmeline Pankhurst
As a proud life-long learner, my inspirations change daily, and in terms of influence on my music-making, it’s women from outside the musical realm who are really inspiring my creations at the moment.
I’m currently deep-diving into the world of Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement in Britain. Her bold, reckless abandon for pursing the vote — and women’s rights more broadly — aligns beautifully with how I feel about much of the continued coverage of violence (systemic, physical, and otherwise) against women in the contemporary age: why should we have to produce yet another explanation (see: viral digital content) encouraging cis male-identifying decision-makers to join the cause? It’s simple: it’s time.
My second major inspiration comes from a more immediate context: a wonderfully inquisitive and articulate Year 7 student of mine who answered my most recent question to her — “Why do we learn about history?” — with this: “So we can be aware of the struggles and striving for change that came before us, and appreciate what we have to do in the future to continue that work and make things better for people everywhere”.
She was referring — in no uncertain terms — to the women’s rights movement and, specifically, to the achievements of Indigenous Australian women within that realm. What an incredible young woman.
– Lucy Rash
Who inspires you this International Women’s Day?
Answers courtesy of the CutCommon team.
