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Donne Foundation

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Founded by @gdilaccio | The Global Voice for Women in Music 🌎 #18000WomenComposers ⤵️

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Welcome to Donne. Founded by soprano @gdilaccio, we are a global movement dedicated to amplifying the voices of women composers and reclaiming their place in music history. Explore our work, dive into our database, and join us in driving real change for equality in the arts.

#donneuk #womeninmusic #musichistory #gabrielladilaccio by @donne_uk

Change doesn't only happen on stage.
It happens every time someone donates, volunteers a skill, shares a name the world forgot, or brings a woman's music into their own concert, classroom, or playlist.

Swipe to see how you can be part of it — however big or small that looks for you. 🎶
Link in bio.

#DonneUK #WomenInMusic #MusicEquality #LetHerPlay by @donne_uk

Eight years ago I found a book listing 6,000 women composers. Today I know there are 18,000 +

I want to bring the full list online. Who’s in?
🔗 Link in bio

Happy International Women’s Day

Let’s build something that will inspire generations to come - not just celebrate it one day a year.

Happy 8th anniversary to @donne_uk who continues to teach me how much more I have to learn and how much more we all can do to contribute to a better society.

#iwd2026 by @donne_uk

What does it mean to be a woman in a musical world historically dominated by men?

In this interview, Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor @mariaschneiderorchestra reflects on being one of the few women writing for big bands during her student years, and the pressure of worrying whether her music sounded “too feminine”.

Her experience reveals how gender stereotypes have shaped the way women’s creativity is perceived and valued.

#DonneUK #WomenInMusic #MariaSchneider #WomenComposers #GenderEquality by @donne_uk

AI is learning music history from a world that largely left women out.

And it’s already carrying that imbalance into the future.
For years, I’ve been bringing extraordinary music by women back to life through performance.

But here’s what we need to understand: music that isn’t published, performed or recorded is music that AI is far less likely to learn from.

We cannot change the past. But we can change what the future inherits. And that starts with what we choose to perform and record today.

I discussed this with the wonderful @manoushz on @npr @ted Radio Hour @socialpros11111 in the episode “Thousands of women composers have been erased from history. Who were they?”

🎧 Listen to the full conversation:  https://www.npr.org/2026/10/02/nx-s1-5945613/thousands-of-women-composers-have-been-erased-from-history-who-were-they

The future of music is being shaped right now. What are we choosing to leave in it?

#gabrielladilaccio #tedradiohour by @donne_uk

Dvořák was wrong, and Amy Beach spent a lifetime proving it. Which of her works are you adding to your playlist?

#donneuk #amybeach #womeninmusic #womancomposer #musichistory by @donne_uk

Music can carry history, memory, and the voices that were left out.

In Stride, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania León explores the legacy of the women’s suffrage movement, drawing inspiration from Susan B. Anthony and the centennial of the 19th Amendment.

But her composition also confronts an important contradiction: while the amendment marked a historic victory for women’s voting rights in the United States, many women of color continued to face barriers to the ballot.

Through jazz influences, African rhythmic traditions, and a powerful musical ending, León reminds us that history is also shaped by those who were excluded from its celebrations.

Listen to Tania León share the story behind Stride, a composition where music becomes a reflection on equality, identity, and the unfinished struggle for representation.

#TaniaLeon #Stride #WomenInMusic #WomenComposers #vote by @donne_uk

Her symphonies and chamber music still have so much to say. Swipe through, then tell us: which Farrenc work should we listen to next? 🎻

Read the full report at Donne, Women in Music (link in bio!)

#LouiseFarrenc #WomenInMusic #Donne #ComposerSpotlight by @donne_uk

Some sounds are so familiar we forget someone had to invent them. This is a reminder to look for the person behind the music you already know. Who else deserves a spotlight? Tell us below. 🎶

#WomenInMusic #DeliaDerbyshire #ElectronicMusic #DoctorWho by @donne_uk

Some musicians don't just make music, they make room for others to make it too.

Chiquinha Gonzaga did exactly that, and she did it on her own terms, at a time when the world offered women very little room at all.

Her story is a reminder that history is full of women who didn't wait for permission. The question is how many of their names we were taught.
Swipe through and tell us: had you heard of her before today?

#ChiquinhaGonzaga #WomenComposers #WomenInMusic #BrazilianMusic #MusicHistory by @donne_uk

Name one symphony by a woman. Without Googling 👀

Such a great a extract from my podcast recording for @npr @ted Radio Hour with the wonderful @manoushz

🎧 on your favourite podcast app

#womeninmusic #tedradiohour by @donne_uk

Meet the most-performed woman composer in the world. 🎶

In our 2025–2026 research, 110 orchestras across 30 countries scheduled 20,091 works. Only 8.5% were composed by women, and at the top of that list is Swedish composer Kerstin Andeby, with 150 works.
Millions of Swedes know her songs. Maja's Alphabet Songs, set to verses by Lena Anderson, has 26 songs, one for every letter of the alphabet. They are sung at school-ending ceremonies across Sweden every year. The album won a Grammis in 1993 and a gold record in 2001.

Kerstin Andeby is a living composer, and she ranks 29th overall among all composers programmed this season. Yet the top 10 women together account for just 2.4% of works.

Swipe to read more ➡️ and find the full report at the link in our bio.

#DonneWomenInMusic #WomenComposers #KerstinAndeby #WomenInMusic #OrchestraRepertoire by @donne_uk