Mission accomplished!

It has been confirmed that on 22 February, Donne, Women in Music succeeded in its attempt to set a new world record for the Longest Acoustic Music Live-Streamed Concert.

Called Let HER MUSIC PLAY, the YouTube livestream invited artists from across various genres of music, including classical, jazz, pop and folk including the English baritone Roderick Williams, sopranos Carolyn Sampson, Helen Lacey and Donne founder Gabriella Di Laccio and pianist Jelena Makarova. The performance took place at the Sala Brasil, at London’s Embassy of Brazil and lasted 26 hours and 18 minutes – during which it showcased 96 musicians and music by 140 women and non-binary composers, arrangers and songwriters.

Jelena Makarova performs in the Donne, Women in Music marathon.

Donne, Women in Music released its latest report Equality and Diversity in Global Repertoire in 2022, examining the representation of female composers in orchestral programming across the world. Internationally, it found that 92% of works were written by male composers, 87% of whom were white.

Its research into the 2021–22 seasons of Australian orchestras found Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was the most diverse with 23% of its programmed works written by female composers, while Queensland Symphony Orchestra was the least, with less than 5%. The MSO was also the only orchestra to reach a 2.5% representation of composers of colour.

“This research aims to raise awareness and open up conversations to see how we together can make a difference. By promoting equality and diversity in the music industry, we can create a more vibrant and inspiring musical landscape for everyone to enjoy,” said Di Laccio to Limelight in 2022.

“I truly believe that together, we can make much faster progress and make a real positive impact for equality and diversity in music.”