Perth-based arts organisation Tenth Muse Initiative (TMI) has released its analysis of gender and cultural representation in the 2023 programs of Australia’s orchestras.

Led by soprano, creative producer and co-founder Hannah Lee Tungate of the TMI’s Women Composers Project, the study examines how many female, male, First Nations, living and/or historical composers and composers of colour were performed by Australian orchestras. The full results will be released in April.

“In the orchestral world, diversity is majorly lacking. The programs in no way reflect the current society we live in. I think it’s important to track this kind of representation so you can identify cultural trends and hold our major orchestras to account,” Tungate tells Limelight.

In 2023, 90.2 percent of works programmed were written by men, Tungate says. “In 2022, it was only...