Paris, 30 November 2020
For over 65 years, the International Rostrum of Composers (IRC), has been the most important platform for the promotion and exchange of contemporary music creation between public broadcasting companies from all over the globe.
The 67th edition of the IRC has been postponed to 2021 but at the International Music Council, we believe that to fulfil IMC’s mission embedded in the Five Music Rights, actions like the IRC are more needed than ever to promote emerging composers and strengthen the role of broadcasting organisations in the cultural landscape.
Henri Dutilleux, Luciano Berio, Toru Takemitsu, Murray Schafer are only a few names among the composers whose carrier was boosted by the IRC while they were still unknown by many.
However, we noted that since 1955, among the 600+ composers selected and recommended at the IRC, only 47 were women, representing roughly 7% of the total. Even more noteworthy, until the 1990 edition, the list contains only 4 names and before 1977, there is no trace of a female composer!
Why so? Reasons can be different… but the picture is this.
Therefore, to mark this exceptional year 2020 with an exceptional action, IMC launches Hidden Treasures Mixtape with the aim to rediscover hidden gems composed by women in the past 66 years and to offer them the recognition they deserv(ed).
Hidden Treasures Mixtape is conceived as a tool to raise awareness about the lack of gender balance in recent and not so recent contemporary music creation and to provide radios with a unique, quality selection to share with their audiences.
In a view to make this action as meaningful as possible, the IMC has decided to offer free registration to all interested broadcasting organisations.
Alongside the music exchange among broadcasting companies, the traditional Streaming Week will give the opportunity to a wider audience to listen to the presented works on free streaming for one week (18 – 24 January 2021).
During the streaming week, IMC will organize 2 online events: a professional meeting for radio delegates (January 19) and a public event on the place of female composers in broadcasting today (January 21). Details will be announced soon.
Do not hesitate anymore! Read the participation guide and register today…you have until December 18th.