Summers Night
Female and Non-binary Composer National Mentoring Project
The Summers Night Project is a biennial national mentoring project established to support and mentor female and non-binary composers to create a new composition with the aim of growing the gender diversity of composers in music programs Australia-wide.
In 2017, Anne Summers released ‘The Women’s Manifesto’. This was intended as a blueprint to create equality for women in Australia, articulating clear goals for change, one of which was the right to participate fully and equally in all areas of public life.
Taking inspiration from the Manifesto, the Summers Night Project devised by Cat Hope and Gabriella Smart and produced by Tura aims to provide support and mentoring for female and non-binary composers to create new work.
2018
Tura commissioned works from Olivia Davies (WA), Rachel Bruerville (SA) and Carmen Chan Schoenborn (VIC).
2020
Mentees were selected from a national callout. The cohort included Aviva Endean, Hilary Kleinig, Bree van Reyk, Kate Milligan, and Frankie Dyson Reilly.
Mentors of this program have included leading national composers and new music performers. The mix of composers and new music performer mentors aims to facilitate a practical opportunity for mentees to create and render their work a reality.
Previous mentorship teams have included Cat Hope, Gabriella Smart, Erik Griswold, Damien Ricketson, Vanessa Tomlinson, Blair Harris, Olivia Davies, and Aaron Wyatt.
Project Partners
Soundstream, APRA AMCOS, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Monash University, Decibel New Music Ensemble, Clocked Out, Australian Music Centre.
Philanthropic partners
Sydney Community Foundation’s Women Composers Fund and its associated donors
Images by Olivia Davies.